Harry Potter and the Crystal of Tritum
by Frostie
Summary: When the Dursley family dies in a car accident during the summer of Harry's fifth year, he is no longer safe at Number 4 Privet Drive. Dumbledore chooses the most unlikely character to take Harry in for the remainder of the summer...
1. A Plan

Chapter 1  
A Plan  
  
Harry Potter was having trouble breathing due to the muggy air of a hot, humid July day. He was again at the Dursleys' house, his only living relatives. They treated Harry like he was no lower than dirt, especially this summer due to an unusual heat wave that had crossed through Britain. Harry heard thunder rumbling in the distance: it would storm tonight. His open window let in even more of the still air, the only source of cooling Harry had since the Dursleys wouldn't dare make him comfortable with a fan. Harry lay back on his bed, sighing. If the cool weather didn't come the next day, he felt he would seriously consider taking his Firebolt and flying off to his best friend Ron Weasley's house. Harry wiped the sweat that was trickling down his forehead, upon which was a faint lightning bolt- shaped scar, the reminder of his encounter with the Dark Lord Voldemort when he was only a year old. That night years ago made him famous for becoming the first wizard to ever survive the fatal curse of Avada Kedavra. Harry had been trying to get to sleep for hours, but nothing was working. Hedwig, his owl was delivering a rather long, boring letter Harry had written to Hermione Granger, his best friend other than Ron, so her empty cage loomed in the corner, shadowed due to the darkness. He was all alone in the house because his uncle Vernon Dursley had sealed a deal with a well- known construction firm, selling a record amount of drills for his company Grunnings. Harry's aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley had gone with Harry's uncle to a banquet held in his honor. He didn't expect them back until late. Sighing, Harry started thinking about his now deceased godfather, Sirius Black, who had died the year before while courageously battling Voldemort's Death Eaters. Harry's thoughts rested on his godfather often these days.  
  
The almost-sixteen-year-old became so deep in thought that he didn't notice the curtains unnaturally fluttering, as if hit by some sudden breeze. He didn't realize there was a figure above him until it said softly, "Hi, Harry."  
  
"Sirius!" the teenager exclaimed, jumping up upon seeing his godfather in ghost form. "It's great to see you! What have you been up to?"  
  
"No time for talking." Sirius' face was the gravest Harry had ever seen it, including the time when Sirius' face had sunken due to his time in Azkaban. "You have to get out of the place."  
  
"Well, obviously I have to get out of this place! That's what I've been trying to tell people for ages. Have you seen how they treat me?"  
  
"Yes, I have, but that's not the reason you're leaving. Dumbledore sent me. Your uncle was drunk behind the wheel after that banquet and their car ran off the road and over a cliff. All three died. Harry, you're no longer safe here. There are no longer any living blood relatives whose house you would be safe at, so we have to get you out of this house as quickly as possible."  
  
Harry frowned. He felt a rather large twinge of sympathy for his once only living relatives, even though they had treated him horribly. "Where are we going?"  
  
"I can't tell you that until we get there. Voldemort will be here in less than fifteen minutes, and we'll have to fly to your hideout. Get your Firebolt and attach your trunk and Hedwig's cage to it. Dumbledore said you are allowed to use magic as this is an important case."  
  
Not dawdling or asking questions, Harry grabbed his broomstick out of his trunk and carelessly shoved scraps of parchment and books that were scattered around the room. He grabbed his wand and attached the trunk and Hedwig's cage to the Firebolt, which was quivering in anticipation of flying again.  
  
"Ready?" Sirius asked Harry.  
  
With a quick glance around the room for forgotten things, Harry replied the only word that he could think of: "Yes."  
  
* * *  
  
Harry and his godfather had been flying at the fastest speed capable of Harry's broomstick for twenty minutes in silence until Sirius said, "You're safer now. We can slow down."  
  
"What will happen when Voldemort's outraged at finding me gone?" Harry looked at his translucent godfather.  
  
Sighing, Sirius avoided Harry's eyes. "The magnitude of Voldemort's power has obviously crossed Dumbledore's mind, but even he doesn't know what the Dark Lord is capable of. More than likely, though, Voldemort will kill tonight. When he feels particularly murderous, he'll kill somebody, even if it happens to be simply an innocent bystander. Albus Dumbledore can perform almost any magic possible, but he is afraid that many more will die at Voldemort's hand before he is vanquished. He is worried about you in particular because of that prophecy he told you about at the end of last year. You and only you can defeat Lord Voldemort. Only you can destroy him once and for all. I'm afraid these deaths have to occur before the Dark Lord will diminish into nothing." He fell into silence.  
  
Harry felt like yet another lead weight had been added to the weights already placed upon his shoulders, doubling the burden. He knew that he was the only one who could kill Voldemort, but hearing Sirius saying all of this out loud just seemed to finalize the prophecy even more. After a few minutes of thought, he asked, "So where am I safe? Where are we going?"  
  
"I can't tell you that until we're there," his godfather repeated  
  
"OK, then can you tell me why you haven't been here to visit me?" Harry asked, slightly irritated.  
  
"I wish I could have visited you sooner, but there's no way I'm going to stay down there forever and ever. A ghost—or spirit—can be summoned to come down to Earth by an extremely complex spell that very few know how to do, and it only works for ten hours. Dumbledore summoned me and talked to me about the Order's," Sirius' voice broke momentarily, "discovery of the car crash. He explained his plan for you to me."  
  
"What plan?"  
  
"I'll explain everything once we get there. It isn't safe to talk about it in the open." They went to silence once more for ten minutes. "There it is," Sirius finally said, pointing towards a run-down looking house. They descended, and when they touched down, Sirius looked at Harry with a look of despair, sadness, and loss. "Harry, you will be spending the remainder of your summer with Severus Snape."  
  
* * *  
  
"You've—got—to—be—kidding," Harry told his godfather while still hovering in midair. "I'm not spending part of my summer in Snape's house! He'd be worse than the Dursleys were!"  
  
"Believe me, Harry, I don't want you to have to do this either."  
  
"I thought you hated Snape," Harry continued, ignoring Sirius' pleas. "You and my dad looked at him with the same disgust that I look with at Malfoy."  
  
"I do, but Harry, listen to me--"  
  
"I can't believe you'd do this to me. I thought I was going to stay with Lupin, or someone from the Order."  
  
"Snape is in the Order."  
  
"Then I thought I was going to stay with a humane person from the Order."  
  
"OK, calm down, Harry. Let me explain this to you. I pleaded with Dumbledore for as long as he'd let me, trying to convince him that Snape would be hard on you and that you should stay with Lupin, where he would give you your training..."  
  
"What training?"  
  
"I can't tell you now, Harry. I tried to find an excuse so that you would be able to stay with Remus, but nothing worked. Dumbledore just kept on saying that he would be gone a couple days each month in order for him to transform..."  
  
"Doesn't he think I can take care of myself for a few days?"  
  
"Harry, Albus Dumbledore completely trusts you, but you are an underage wizard, and you need protection. A few days are a few days too many. You need someone to be around every day, and Snape—" Sirius cringed at this point, "--Snape has agreed to stick around for the next few weeks to keep an eye on you. He was scheduled to do business for the Order of the Phoenix, but he has been excused from it in order to keep you safe."  
  
"Why did he agree to take me if he hates me?"  
  
This question seemed to make Sirius uncomfortable. "Dumbledore says deep down—but it's Snape so it would have to be very deep down—Snape loves you. I think it has to do with his crush on your mother. He believes he owes it to her to keep her son safe, even if he has an uncanny similarity to James."  
  
"How do you know Snape had a crush on my mum?"  
  
"Well...James and I...interrogated him using a Truth Potion in our fifth year to find out if he and other Slytherins had been the ones trying to curse James while he was playing Quidditch and it kind of slipped out."  
  
"Why were they trying to curse Dad?"  
  
"Sore losers. The Slytherin Quidditch team never managed to beat James in a game, and they weren't very good at losing, especially to Gryffindor." Sirius smirked. "Good times, those were..." A happy look passed over Sirius' face until he again realized where they were. "Well, we'd better be getting inside, since I only have two hours left and Dumbledore didn't explain everything to me either. Snape would know." A disgusted look crossed the handsome features of Sirius. Harry hadn't noticed, but his godfather seemed to be considerably younger.  
  
"Sirius? Can I ask you something before we go inside?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Have you seen Dad or Mum lately? You know, wherever spirits go."  
  
"Yes, I have seen both of them. Why do you ask?"  
  
"You seem much younger and much happier than ever. Can—could—could Dumbledore summon my parents' spirits?" he asked hopefully.  
  
Sirius' face fell. "No, the spell only works within ten years of death. I'm sorry, Harry."  
  
"That's OK," he said, trying to sound light to hide his disappointment.  
  
"You miss them, don't you?" Sirius asked softly.  
  
"Yes. I—I wish I just could have—gotten the chance to meet them," Harry said, unable to mask his sadness.  
  
"They're ever so proud of you. You have no idea how much James gloats about your flying skills. It's just like when we were back in school and he was bragging about his flying skills."  
  
Harry managed to smile.  
  
Sirius sighed. "I suppose it's time to get going. Ready?"  
  
"Ready as I'll ever be."  
  
Harry carried his Firebolt, trunk and cage still attached, across the unkempt lawn and to the run-down house of Severus Snape. As he looked around, he noticed there were no other houses in sight. "I suppose Snape likes his privacy."  
  
"Good thing too, saves anyone the trouble of having to look at his ugly face," Sirius muttered, as if he thought Harry couldn't hear him. Harry stifled a snort of laughter and walked up to the door, dragging his belongings behind him. An old brass gargoyle head was mounted on it with a knocker going through its nose. Harry took hold of it and knocked a few times. The gargoyle seemed to come alive, but it transformed into the greasy-haired head of Harry's Potions teacher, Severus Snape. A familiar sinister sneer crossed Snape's face upon seeing Harry, but the sneer soon turned into what he seemed to think as a hospitable smile.  
  
"Why, hello, Potter—I mean, Harry. And Sirius too. Come in." The head of Snape disappeared and turned back into the gargoyle. Reluctantly, the duo of ghost and human walked into the already open door.  
  
The inside of Snape's house was just as shabby as the outside. No one seemed to have dusted it in years. Harry saw that he was in an entryway where there were a couple old, moldy cloaks and jackets Muggles wear to his right and to his left was a pile of cleaner cloaks and jackets. A door was to his left, which Harry assumed was an unused closet. All different kinds of labeled beakers and bottles filled with potions, all having their own unique colors lined the walls on rows and rows of shelves. Some were bubbling. Others contained what looked to Harry like the insides of a rodent. Sirius looked at everything in disgust, and Harry knew that his godfather would have problems keeping quiet upon the meeting of his old rival. Harry walked forward and out of the entryway. He came across a large, intricate wooden staircase immediately to his right that didn't have a speck of dust on it, but in front of him was a small cluttered, singular room (due to the space the staircase took up), which looked like it was a combination of a kitchen/dining room/living room all in one. In one corner, there was a caldron, which was steaming and boiling vigorously. On the floor around the caldron were bottles with a thick, green liquid contained inside them. A set of shelves was covered in dusty glass jars, which were again labeled, but Harry was too far away to read them. There were a few cupboards and a sink piled with dirty dishes covered in crusted food on one side and a small wooden table with one chair on the other. The table was piled with many editions of the Daily Prophet. The most current newspaper was neatly set in front of the chair with a half-finished cup of tea next to it. Harry caught headline on the front page: More Breakouts In Azkaban: Wizarding Community Questions Authority as Snape appeared from lurking in a corner. "Houseguests. How--wonderful." The forced smile appeared on his face again, revealing yellowing teeth.  
  
"Hello, Professor," Harry said, seeing that if he had to be polite towards Snape he'd better start now. Sirius just nodded, and Harry could see he was fighting the urge to say something about the state of Snape's house.  
  
"I hope you don't mind the state of cleanliness of my house. I couldn't find time to tidy up." He shot a challenging look at Harry in hopes of catching him off his guard where Harry would say something that would offend his professor.  
  
"Enough of the fake friendliness, Snape," Sirius said coldly. "I have less than two hours left before I have to go back and I still don't know what Dumbledore's plan for Harry this summer is."  
  
Snape's face at first fell, but turned to a gleeful expression. "So the headmaster doesn't even trust you to know what he has in store for your own godson? First he doesn't want you out working for the Order and now...?"  
  
"You're just jealous of me, Snivelus. I've always been more popular than you and you've always wanted that fame."  
  
"Stop it!" Harry exclaimed, unnecessarily standing between the ghost of Sirius and Snape. "If we're going to get anywhere with this conversation about what on earth I'm doing here, you two have to forget your differences. You'll have to forget the past and focus on the present."  
  
Sirius looked back at his godson with a softened expression. "You're right, Harry. We're here for your sake." He glared at Snape again. "But if I see you trying to give Harry a hard time or hear from my sources that you treat him unfairly, you'll regret it."  
  
"And what can a ghost do? Am I incorrect with my knowledge that ghosts aren't exactly...solid?" Snape questioned Sirius, with an added sneer. Sirius would have lunged at his opponent if it hadn't been for Harry glaring at him.  
  
"OK, Harry. I get it. I'll be polite this one time."  
  
"That's better," Harry said as he sit down on one of the chairs Snape had conjured out of midair. He picked up the huge pile of Daily Prophets and put them to the side. He then waved his wand as two more cups of tea appeared on the table opposite him (he seemed to have conveniently forgotten that Sirius couldn't eat or drink). Sirius sat beside him. Harry decided to start the conversation. "Now why am I here?"  
  
"Potter, you told Professor McGonagall last year that you wanted to become an Auror. Is that correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Snape picked up the recent newspaper that was still in front of him and pointed to the article entitled: Auror Shortage Critical: Five More Deaths Reported. "Aurors have been murdered by the Dark Lord's followers every day, and with this new breakout," he gestured towards the main article, "there have been even more deaths at a time. Ever since the Minister announced the Dark Lord is back, wizards and witches alike are afraid of committing themselves to the profession of Aurorism. You are the only one in Hogwarts that has expressed an interest in this job area. Usually we have at least five that are interested, although very few pursue becoming one in the end.  
  
"Due to this fear that has taken hold of the Wizarding world, the few Aurors that are interested have to be trained to become the best. If we don't train them well enough, the Ministry will be under the Dark Lord's rule in no time. As you already know, you will have to take a great many N.E.W.T.s next year, including Potions," at this Snape gave Harry a nasty look; Harry would have to work harder in Potions than he ever did.  
  
"Professor? I still don't know why I'm here," Harry said, as politely as he could to Snape.  
  
"I will commence the training for your Aurorship. You will be training to become one on top of all your other classes this upcoming year. We need Aurors as soon as possible, and we can't wait an additional three years for them to learn everything there is to know. I will be focusing on teaching you the spells that Aurors alone are taught. Some of them take a lot of practice in order for the spells to work."  
  
"So you were an Auror?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself from blurting it out.  
  
"Potter, I am an Auror. I thought I had explained the spells are only taught to Aurors. Maybe I didn't explain it clearly enough for your thick head to comprehend it?"  
  
"Did you become an Auror before or after your reign as a Death Eater?" Sirius asked, seething. Harry knew he had gone too far. Snape jumped up from his chair so quickly that it fell over.  
  
"I do not believe I asked your opinion, Black. I don't appreciate you reminding me about my Dark past."  
  
Sirius stood up too. "If you bother Harry you bother me. I have no idea why you volunteered to take Harry in anyway!"  
  
"If you must know, I didn't volunteer, Dumbledore asked me to do it. The Dark Lord would never consider the thought of Harry Potter living with a former Death Eater! He has seen through Quirrell how much Potter and I despise each other!"  
  
"Harry isn't safe here!" Sirius roared. "Voldemort will come for you eventually, Snape, and you know it! Harry himself witnessed Voldemort talking about you saying that he'd kill you whenever he had the chance. How convenient it would be if Harry Potter, the boy he has been after for fifteen years resided in the same house! He could kill two birds with one stone that way!"  
  
"The Dark Lord wouldn't dare come here!"  
  
"Why? Because it's a dump?" Snape's mouth fell into a look of such hatred that even Harry was surprised.  
  
"Stop it!" he yelled, splitting the two up again, with greater difficulty than before. "Sirius only has an hour left and you still have a bit to explain, sir."  
  
"I'll stop if he stops," Sirius said childishly.  
  
"Sirius, you're not getting us anywhere by being so stuck up. If you want to know the whole story, you'd better sit down again and listen before that hour is up."  
  
Reluctantly, Harry's godfather sat back down. He glared at Snape, who was setting his chair upright again. "Now that those interruptions are done and over with, where was I? Oh yes, I'll be teaching you spells like the Web of Life, which blocks all spells--including Avada Kedavra; some Healing Spells to avoid unnecessary trips to St. Mungo's; Deflecting Spells that will redirect even the Unforgivable Curses; and a few hexes that would come in handy when met with a Death Eater. If you get through all of those before school starts back up again, which is quite doubtful, we'll move on to disguising yourself to fit in with certain crowds. I doubt you will get through the first spell, however, since you are so dim-witted." Harry could hear Sirius growling in a very dog-like manner.  
  
"Potter, if you choose to continue the training into the school year, I hope you're aware that it would add a lot of extra work onto your already large responsibility. I hear from McGonagall that you will be taking on six N.E.W.T. courses this year: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and--" Snape took the time to smirk. "—Potions. To tell you the truth, Potter, I would have sooner chosen Longbottom than have accepted you to my N.E.W.T. course, but the headmaster intervened. He told me that I would see your utmost attention and extremely hard work out of you this year. I do hope he is right; Potter, and you will take the time to actually try to do something useful in my class. If not, I daresay your Quidditch career might find its way down the drain." Harry saw Snape's most evil smile yet as he spoke this. "Potter, the hero of every match he plays in might not be able to play if his grades aren't up to par."  
  
Sirius couldn't stand any more of this. "Snape, you're just foul because your team has lost the Quidditch Cup every year since Harry's third year! Nothing—and no one--can stop Harry from playing. And I thought you cared about Lily. Can you think of her expression if she saw how you are treating her son?"  
  
Snape blushed a beet red and muttered, "That was a long time ago." He shot a look at Harry.  
  
"Yes, Harry knows all about your crush on Lily. I told him before we came in." It was Sirius' turn to smirk.  
  
"Black, you haven't changed one bit!" Snape exclaimed putting his face so close to Sirius' that their noses almost touched. "You were just like this back when we were in school!"  
  
"Get your greasy nose out of my face. It will be dirty for life now—and since I'm a spirit, life is a long time to have a filthy nose."  
  
Before Snape could answer, Harry found himself forcing the two rivals apart yet again. "Enough! You two are acting like you are five-year-olds! What do things that happened over twenty years ago have to do with my training? Remember this is real life we're talking about now, where hundreds of people could die if Voldemort isn't vanquished soon! The prophecy about me I heard last year said I either have to kill him or he kills me, so no matter what, he will be a part of my life, whether it be me who dies or him. You two can't get over a simple rivalry that you've had in school, even when you are both on the same side. Thanks to the time you wasted, Sirius only has a half an hour left until he has to go back. I don't care if you don't like each other! Tonight you will at least be civil for these last thirty minutes. Now, Professor, what were saying about a full schedule on my part?"  
  
Still rather surprised at Harry's mature outburst, Snape was gawking at him, but he quickly recovered. "Oh, yes. Every Monday, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will train you, so plan accordingly."  
  
"Who is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor?"  
  
"Tonks," Sirius said immediately from Harry's left. "She took the position after Dumbledore suggested that she take up training you. That's one thing he was willing to tell me," Sirius said, sulking.  
  
"Yes, Black is right...for once. Professor Tonks knows the ropes of Aurorism, as she is one of the best. She will be teaching you items that you will find crucial in the career path of an Auror."  
  
"How long is Tonks staying at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Two years," Snape replied in what he apparently thought was his nicest voice upon Harry's interruption. "She said that she is willing to take teach you next year as well. Amazing, isn't it? No one has been willing to work at the Defense Against the Dark Arts position for over a year ever since you got here."  
  
"Are you accusing Harry of scaring off all those teachers?" Sirius asked in a restrained voice.  
  
"Well, it appears that Potter has connections with every reason each teacher left. Quirell's death came to be through Potter, Lockhart's memory was completely cleared—"  
  
"I didn't do that! It was Ron's wand he was using when it backfired! He modified his own memory!" Harry said angrily, unable to contain his anger towards Snape.  
  
"Weasley's wand was broken on your own account," Snape said, coolly. "You thought you would attract attention by flying a car to school instead of taking the train."  
  
Harry stood up. "There was a barrier to the platform!"  
  
"It was still your fault. Lupin helped Potter at the end of his third year, aiding Black here in his escape, leading to my disgruntled accident of telling the whole school about Remus Lupin's little secret, the intruding professor dressed as Moody led Potter through the Triwizard Tournament, especially the maze and dragged him up to his office where the identity was finally revealed and he was killed, and Potter and Granger brought Umbridge into the Forbidden Forest, which led up to her firing. That seems fairly suspicious to me, Black."  
  
"So two imposters, one git, one sneak after Dumbledore's job, and only one fairly decent teacher are all gone because of me? I don't think so! I helped be rid of everyone besides Lupin! So you tell me that a teacher who has Voldemort sticking out the back of his head is more worthy of teaching at Hogwarts than a werewolf who is completely harmless if he drinks a potion?!"  
  
"Harry, he never said that," Sirius said, trying to stop his godson from getting himself in even more trouble with Snape. "Just ignore it and cool down. I know everything I need to now and I have ten minutes left. Let's go outside." Before he went outside, he turned to Snape with a look of great dislike. "I'll thank you for taking care of my godson, for Lily, but if you even try to give him a hard time you'll regret it, Snivelus." They glared at each other for a few seconds, and then Sirius turned around and floated out of the house, where Harry was waiting for him, seething.  
  
"I won't be able to stand being around Snape for the rest of the summer! Why on earth did Dumbledore send me here?! I can't believe him. I can't believe him!"  
  
"Harry, calm down. I want to tell you a few things before I have to go. First of all, don't let Snape get to you. I know he's foul, greasy, unjust, ugly, and completely horrible, but the Wizarding world is depending on you. You have to become an Auror as soon as possible. Snape's right, people are afraid to get into the profession because of Voldemort's power. The prophecy last year said that you are the only one who has the ability to kill him. The sooner he's gone, the better. Second, I'm sorry you have to carry all this burden." Sirius glanced at Harry with a combined look of admiration, sadness, and pride. "I can't tell you how much I'm proud of you, nor how much I wish I could carry that burden for you. Over the last five years alone, you have accomplished more than many grown wizards have, and you carry a thousand times the weight on your shoulders than someone your age should have to bear. Thirdly, in my will, you inherit all my possessions. The gold in my Gringott's vault, my house, everything. Dumbledore said after this year at Hogwarts, you would be able to live at number twelve, Grimmauld Place. He was going to wait until after you graduated, but due to recent events, you will have to live there this year."  
  
"Sirius, I miss you," Harry said, before he could stop himself. His godfather looked up at him and gave him a sympathetic smile.  
  
"I miss you too, Harry. If only I hadn't been killed..."  
  
"It isn't your fault. It's mine. I was stupid enough to think Voldemort was torturing you..."  
  
"It's no one's fault but Voldemort's and his followers. Anyone could have been hoodwinked. Older and smarter wizards than you have died at Voldemort's hand because he tricked them. Don't go blaming yourself. It wasn't your fault."  
  
"I just—I just—have been looking forward to living with you ever since you asked me to at the end of third year. I didn't know how long I could stand living in the Dursleys' house."  
  
"Well, you won't have to worry about going there any longer," Sirius replied, trying to lighten the mood, even though the Dursleys were dead, "that is, if you survive a few weeks at Snape's."  
  
The two were silent for a couple minutes until Harry looked at his watch. "Sirius...it's time for you—to go," Harry barely choked out the words.  
  
"I figured as much." He sighed. "Take care of yourself, Harry. Try not to get on Snape's bad side, OK?" He pulled Harry into a would-be one-armed hug, but he had apparently forgotten that he wasn't completely solid, and Harry felt a cool mist on him as Sirius' arm went through his shoulders. "Whoops, sorry, Harry. Forgot about that." Harry shivered, but appreciated it just as much. "And if you need me, go to Dumbledore and have him perform the spell to bring me back." Sirius' form was starting to fade. "Goodbye, Harry."  
  
"Bye, Sirius," Harry whispered in reply as his godfather's ghost form faded even more. Soon, he was gone. 


	2. Summer With Snape

Chapter 2  
  
Summer with Snape  
  
"Potter, can't you ever get anything right?" Snape asked, irritably as Harry awoke from yet another one of Snape's Stunners that had gone directly through his measly Web of Life. It was two weeks later and Harry knew he wouldn't be able to stand much more of this. He had been attempting the Web of Life for the whole of his first two weeks with Snape. He held his tongue with his teeth to stifle a reply that was threateningly at the tip of his tongue. He was miserable. Harry was tired of receiving the full blow of spells sent from Snape's wand and was just about ready to give up on ever becoming an Auror. If this was what training was going to be like for the next two years, Harry felt he would much rather quit than fail so much, especially in front of his most dreaded professor.  
  
As he picked himself off of the floor for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Harry heard a light tapping on the one small window in the whole downstairs. Outside of it, to his relief, he saw a gorgeous snowy owl. "Hedwig!" he exclaimed, jumping up off the floor and running to the window, almost bowling Snape right over. Harry opened the grimy window to let her in. In the owl flew, and perched on top of his shoulder, sticking out a letter, of whose handwriting Harry recognized as Ron's. He could hear Hedwig clucking in disgust while looking at their new living quarters. He seized the envelope and ripped it open.  
  
"I'll just stand here, waiting for you to open your mail, shall I?" asked Snape in a nasty manner.  
  
"Yeah, you do that," was Harry's distracted reply. He started reading.  
  
Harry-  
  
I can't believe Dumbledore sent you to Snape's house!!!!! Why on earth would he do such a cruel and evil thing to you?! I suppose you must be wondering how I know about where you are. Mum and Dad got an owl from Dumbledore saying where you had gone and not to worry about helping you escape from the Dursleys. He didn't say why you're there, though. Could you tell me or is it "top secret information" that only you, Dumbledore, and Snape know about? I asked Mum if we could go and save you from Snape's, but she got mad at me and gave me a three-hour lecture about how I should put trust in my teachers. Hedwig arrived with a letter from Hermione, addressed to both of us, which I've enclosed. Evidently she got a letter from Dumbledore too. He did say something about you living at number twelve, Grimmauld Place next summer, though. What's that all about? Well, Mum's been pestering me to de-gnome the garden for hours now, and although I've been coming up with excuses, I can't think of any more, so I have to go. Hope Snape isn't too evil towards you.  
  
Ron  
  
P.S. I hear Hermione did rather well on her O.W.L.s (big surprise, she studied four times more than the two of us combined). I somehow managed to scrape by with Acceptable as my lowest grade in Potions. If Snape had graded them, I'm sure he would have given me a "T".  
  
Harry didn't realize Snape was still glaring at him when he finished the letter, but raised his head to find the unpleasant face twisted up in an annoyed expression. "Done wasting my time yet?" he sneered.  
  
"No, I have one more message," Harry said, reaching in the envelope for Hermione's note and ignoring Snape's irritated look.  
  
Harry and Ron-  
  
Ron, I'm sure you think that it was utterly unfair for Professor Dumbledore to send Harry to Professor Snape's house for the rest of the summer, but remember this before you retaliate: Dumbledore always has some reason for his supposed madness. I'm sure there is a logical explanation to why he sent Harry there instead of somewhere else, say Lupin's house. Harry, I hope you're OK and that Snape isn't treating you too unfairly. I've seen how he acts towards you in Potions, and if he's like that at his home too, I'm sorry. How did you two do on your O.W.L.s? An owl came tonight bringing my results and I got all Outstanding grades! I'm so excited and have already started studying for the N.E.W.T.s with a short 580-page workbook to study out of from Flourish and Blotts. Harry smiled as he could practically hear Ron exclaiming, "She's already started to study for N.E.W.T.s?! We haven't even had the N.E.W.T. classes yet!" Although I can't practice the spells while we're on summer vacation, I've been memorizing the incantations so that I'll be prepared for the classes. I don't know if I've told you two yet, but I'm working on becoming a teacher for Hogwarts, which is the second hardest career to work for, second only to an Auror. Harry, you said you were going to become an Auror, right? And Ron, what are you thinking about doing? If you don't know what you're working towards, Ron, I highly suggest you think about it and make up your mind soon. I would like to know why you're at Professor Snape's house, Harry, but if you can't tell me, I understand.  
  
Hermione  
  
Harry noticed Snape was sitting down at the table, glaring at him. "Could we take a short break so I can take Hedwig upstairs?" Harry asked his professor.  
  
"I suppose, since you already seem to think that you can do whatever you want."  
  
"Thanks," Harry replied, running towards the elaborate staircase and taking them two at a time, Hedwig still on his shoulder. Harry had always wondered why Snape kept his wooden staircase so well polished when the rest of the house was a mess, but didn't dare ask. His room upstairs was small and very shabby, with only a small bed, a chest of drawers and a closet. It reminded him somewhat of his room at the Dursleys. Hedwig's empty cage sat on top of the oak dresser that desperately needed a refinishing. "Here you go, Hedwig," he told her, picking her up off of his shoulder and putting her into the cage while putting some fresh water and owl pellets in the trays. She hooted softly in appreciation. "I'll send letters to Ron and Hermione tomorrow to give you a short break." He patted her on the head and reluctantly walked slowly down the staircase to where Snape was now seated at the kitchen table, reading the Daily Prophet. He looked up as Harry walked towards him.  
  
"About time," he said coldly. "Now that the interference is out of the way, we should start practicing again. Now... Stupefy!"  
  
Harry sighed as he made yet another attempt at building a Web of Life.  
  
* * *  
  
"Can't we get through today without another owl?" Snape exclaimed irritably as an eagle owl pecked at the window. Harry opened the window again, and the owl flew in and perched itself on the countertop. Harry grabbed the official-looking letter attached to its leg and it took off again.  
  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
  
We are pleased to tell you that we have completed scoring your tests for receiving your O.W.L.s. Your grades are as follows:  
  
Astronomy 85% Exceeds Expectations O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter is doing very well in learning the stars of the solar system. He would have scored higher if his star chart had been complete.  
  
Charms 95% Outstanding O.W.L Comments: Mr. Potter is close to the top of his class in this branch of magic. He shows great knowledge of the incantations and spells.  
  
Care of Magical Creatures 98% Outstanding O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter has learned a great deal in magical creatures that are advanced for his age and that would most likely come up on N.E.W.T. exams. He will continue to do well.  
  
Defense Against the Dark Arts 105% Outstanding O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter demonstrates great potential of becoming a well renowned Auror. He is extraordinarily well educated in this field of study for one so young and is at the top of his class.  
  
Divination 84% Exceeds Expectations O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter does not have the traits of a true Seer. However, he is able to understand the complexity of Divination, which very few his age have accomplished.  
  
Herbology 86% Exceeds Expectations O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter is exactly where he should be in the subject of Herbology. He knows many plants and their uses, but his knowledge on the care of the plants could use a bit of work.  
  
History of Magic 85% Exceeds Expectations O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter appears to be somewhat confused when it comes to History of Magic. With a little more work and memorization, he will do much better in this course.  
  
Potions 85% Exceeds Expectations O.W.L. Comments: Mr. Potter's potion was slightly off color due to a flaw in timing, but otherwise, it appears to be effective to an extent.  
  
Transfiguration 91% Outstanding O.W.L. Comments: It appears Mr. Potter has learned a great deal. Transfiguration is a difficult subject to master and he seems to be coming along nicely.  
  
If you have any questions or comments on the above ratings, please contact us via reply owl.  
  
The testing officials had signed the paper at the bottom. Harry stood there in disbelief and reread the name over and over and over again to make sure it wasn't Hermione's grade sheet. He had somehow managed to achieve at least "Exceeded Expectations" in every subject, including Potions and Divination. He realized Snape was glaring at him, so he said, "O.W.L.s scores," hastily and put the piece of parchment in his pocket. He could now face Snape or anyone else who dared come across his path. Wand at ready, Snape shot another curse at him.  
  
* * *  
  
At the end of that day, Harry had managed to produce a perfect Web of Life. Even Snape was unable to find a flaw with it. "Well, Potter, you seem to have improved quite a bit since this morning. We'll stop here tonight." It was ten o' clock in the evening, and Harry was exhausted. He walked up the beautiful staircase and immediately flopped down on his bed, clothes and all, and fell asleep immediately.  
  
* * *  
  
"Potter, I'm going to go to Hogwarts tomorrow," Snape told him over a supper of watery soup and stale bread one night.  
  
"But that's the 24th of August."  
  
"I'm aware of this, but the staff is supposed to be there a week before the students arrive."  
  
"Then where will I stay for next week?"  
  
"Dumbledore sent me an owl stating that the Weasleys will be by to pick you up tomorrow and bring you to the Burrow. You will catch the train with them. You'll take a break from Auror training and the second week of school will mark your first training session with Professor Tonks. She will meet with you on Monday the eighth where you two will continue where we left off and talk about which day and time would work the best for the training sessions to take place." Harry's heart soared. He'd see Ron again the next day and was going to live with the Weasleys for the last week before school started. "Here's your booklist for this year," Snape added, handing Harry a piece of parchment. "It came today, while you were out cold from a Stunner." Harry took it and felt himself instinctively hold his tongue to this comment, since Snape seemed to enjoy using Stunning Spells on him so that he'd fall to the linoleum every time he failed. Harry was getting sore from falling so many times.  
  
Harry drained the rest of his soup and stuffed the remainder of his bread in his mouth. Excusing himself from the table (not that Snape minded, as he was buried deep inside the latest edition of the Daily Prophet), he went upstairs to pack away his things. 


	3. The Closet and the Candle

Chapter 3  
  
The Closet and the Candle  
  
How all of his possessions always became so spread out across a whole room was always a mystery to Harry. He didn't like to spend very much time in this room of Snape's house especially, since it just seemed to have an eerie feeling to it. All of the books he usually stashed away in his trunk were scattered about on the floor: some in corners, others under the bed, and Harry even found one in one of the drawers in the dresser.  
  
Harry searched the whole room from high to low to see if he had forgotten anything. He checked in the drawers, under the bed, in between the mattress and the box spring, on the floor-- until the only place he hadn't checked was the closet. Harry walked over to it and pulled the doors open. It was then that he realized he hadn't ever opened those doors. Inside of them were piles and piles of neatly stacked boxes. Curiosity got to him and Harry started rummaging around them. A dusty candle in a brass candleholder caught his attention because it was faintly burning. Harry's curiosity got the best of him. Picking it up and dusting it off, he could see a fancy engraving reading:  
  
The Snape Family Ever-Burning Candle  
  
The slight amount of smoke that was coming from the dim flame seemed to take shape. Harry looked closely and could tell it was the shape of a man's face. It started talking in a monotone voice:  
  
"State your question of the Snape family here  
  
Whether it be happy or sad  
  
Involving blood or tear  
This family dates back to the earliest of times  
But I can answer anything  
By acting it out, and not with mimes  
I have recorded every move  
Of all the generations  
  
Rough or smooth  
  
Ask only one question  
Choose wisely, my friend  
Lest you suffer a severe case of indigestion  
So come on and ask away  
For I cannot stay here all day."  
  
Harry gaped at the smoke. So he could ask anything about any one of Snape's relatives? He thought about potential questions: Why is Snape so foul? Where do those overactive oil glands come from? Has he always been so unfair to people from his own House at Hogwarts? What was Snape like when he was younger? However, he couldn't think of a better question to ask about than the staircase. He phrased the question in his head. "Well? What is your question?"  
  
"Why does Severus Snape keep the staircase in his house so clean when everything else is grungy?" Harry asked the face made of smoke. It thickened and enveloped Harry. He could feel himself spinning around in circles until August 31, 1972 appeared in front of his eyes. The dense smoke faded away, leaving Harry in front of a well kempt yard and house that he recognized as Snape's front yard in its prime. Harry walked up the sidewalk where the door immediately opened for him when he reached it. He walked inside.  
  
The inside was as well polished as the outside. Everything was dusted, the robes and coats that had been piled in Snape's entryway were put away, the shelves that lined the walls were covered in homey trinkets instead of potions, and the spotless room in front of him seemed bigger somehow. Harry wondered how this could be Snape's house, and Harry couldn't imagine his Potions master living there. He started looking closer at the things on the wall when he heard yelling coming from up the steps. Harry jumped, but ran up the stairs.  
  
"He's not going to Hogwarts!" came a male voice.  
  
"He is too! Severus received that letter weeks ago and just now you mention that you don't want him to go?!" shrieked a woman's voice. Harry had gotten up to the top of the steps now, and he saw a man and a woman looking at each other, seething. The man was an exact replica of Snape himself: tall; thin; hook-nosed, and he had long, stringy, greasy hair. The woman, on the other hand, was quite pretty. She had long, wavy auburn hair that fell to her waist and her face was perfectly proportioned with creamy, blemish-less skin. Her eyes lit up with spirit, especially when she was mad.  
  
"I want him to go to Durmstrang! It has much more quality in a learning experience. Besides, I don't like that Albus Dumbledore. He trusts Mudbloods for heaven's sake!"  
  
"I wouldn't say your friend, who just happens to be the headmaster at Durmstrang is any better! Dumbledore is a good man, and he would have been the best Minister of Magic we ever had if he had taken the job. Hogwarts needs someone like that around."  
  
"Are you aware of what Dumbledore has done to banish the Dark Arts?"  
  
"Rightfully so. Ever since you joined up with that Dark Lord, you've done everything he tells you to do!"  
  
The man slapped the woman across the face. "I won't have you questioning my actions," he hissed at her through gritted teeth. He stormed down the steps and Harry heard the door slam. The woman had tears coming from her eyes as she put her hand up to her cheek where she had been hit. A boy that Harry knew as a much younger Severus Snape walked out of a room Harry recognized as his own at Snape's house.  
  
"Severus, darling, did you hear that?" All he did was nod. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly to her.  
  
The smoke came back, and Harry felt himself swirling around and around again. The scene in front of him dissolved and Harry found himself five years later, this time in the kitchen. Snape stood in front of Harry, a younger image of the current professor. He was looking at his mother with a grave expression.  
  
"Severus, your father has made some...wrong choices. He has gone to help Voldemort for life."  
  
"Won't he be back?"  
  
"I thought he would be proud of you and come back when you received your prefect badge." She sighed. "I guess not. I'm not sure if he'll come back or not, but please, whatever you do, don't follow in his footsteps."  
  
"I won't, Mother."  
  
Snape had an expression of great admiration and love towards his mother when the scene dissolved. Harry saw the smoke come back, and again, he was on top of the stairs. Snape and his mother were on the bottom of the steps, looking at the door in fear. The door burst open. Harry saw Snape's father standing in the doorway with none other than Lord Voldemort at his side. "Lydia, I'm home!" he said in a strangely high voice. "And I've brought a visitor."  
  
Harry saw Snape's mother walk bravely forward. "Lucas, where have you been? I've been wanting you to come home." Harry walked down the stairs so that he would get a better view. He saw Lydia facing her tall, devilish husband with a great air of confidence. She was ignoring Voldemort.  
  
Lucas laughed shrilly. "You've been wanting me to come home? Somehow I doubt that. Now, this is Lord Voldemort, a friend of mine. He would like you and our lovely son..."he took the time to look at the younger Snape and grin maliciously "...to join us in his growing group of Death Eaters."  
  
Lydia looked at Voldemort now. "I'll never join you," she said coolly and calmly. "You have wrecked havoc on too many wizard and witch's lives. You may have caught my dim-witted husband in your web, but you'll never get me."  
  
"What did you call me?" Lucas asked threateningly.  
  
"I called you dim-witted," she replied calmly.  
  
Lucas stepped forward and shoved her backwards on the stairs. Harry jumped back instinctively. Severus Snape jumped forward, but Voldemort had held him back. "It would be easier joining me," the Dark Lord hissed menacingly, loud enough for everyone to hear. Snape made another attempt at getting away, without any success.  
  
Her husband now had his hands around Lydia's neck. "No wife of mine calls me dim-witted without paying the price..."  
  
"Lucas, step back. I'll take care of her." Voldemort stepped forward, throwing Snape into the closet door, where he hit his head with a dull thud. Obediently, Snape's father leapt back, leaving a clear path between him and Lydia. He had his wand in hand. "You refuse to join me?" he asked, extremely calm, his wand pointed at her. She looked fearful, but still proud.  
  
"Yes," she replied, looking him straight in the eyes and making sure she didn't let show any of her fear.  
  
"Then, I am afraid, like Lucas said, you'll have to pay the price. You could have been valuable to my group, but we couldn't have a disobedient Death Eater now could we? Say your last words."  
  
"I love you, Severus," she said, looking at her son with loving eyes.  
  
"Isn't that touching?" A sneer appeared on the Dark Lord's face that made Harry cringe. "She said she loves you," he said, turning to Snape. The sarcastic comment caused Lucas to laugh coldly. "Avada Kedavra!" Green light shot out of the end of Voldemort's wand and hit Lydia head-on. She keeled over, and was dead before she hit the floor.  
  
"NO! Mother!" Snape screamed and ran to her side, pushing Voldemort out of the way. "Mother!" Tears were flowing freely from his face. He was kneeling by her body, which was sprawled out on the staircase. He kept on sobbing.  
  
"That same fate will come to you, Severus," Voldemort said, "if you don't join me and my Death Eaters. Which path do you choose?"  
  
Snape still sobbed at the feet of Voldemort, where his mother lay, but he couldn't seem to speak. Harry could see a look of hard concentration on his face. "Answer me!" Voldemort shouted. "Crucio!" Snape writhed in pain, and he screamed at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Yes," he managed to choke out in a weak voice, "I'll follow you."  
  
"Good. I'm glad you have come to your senses, Severus..."  
  
The smoke enveloped Harry one last time before he found himself still in Snape's house, but with the closet and the candle still faintly burning in front of him. 


	4. A Dark Night and an Even Darker Morning

Chapter 4  
  
A Dark Night and an Even Darker Morning  
  
Harry couldn't sleep at all that night after seeing what the candle had to offer. He had always been able to think that Snape had willingly followed Voldemort, but his new knowledge changed everything. He had had no idea Voldemort had forced his Potions master to join, or else die. Harry found himself having to deal with a feeling of sympathy towards Snape, a feeling he wasn't accustomed to.  
  
I had no idea Snape's mum was killed by Voldemort, Harry thought, I always thought his whole family followed him readily. Snape doesn't seem like the person to be forced into anything...it must have been Voldemort who turned him so evil. When I saw him in the Pensieve last year he was this unpopular shy kid who couldn't protect himself and now—now he is just evil. He is cold and malicious, not unlike Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort must turn everyone who follows him evil. That must be it...  
  
Harry lay back on the bed, not feeling at all sleepy. His thoughts were racing and he couldn't get that image of Lydia Snape out of his mind. A glance at his watch told him it was two o' clock in the morning. Sighing, Harry remembered he had received an essay assignment from Professor Binns for over the summer on the wars between giants and men. Sitting up on his bed, Harry sat up and grabbed his book, a piece of parchment, and a quill from his trunk. His scar was starting to burn, but he ignored it and started writing.  
  
* * *  
  
An hour and a half later, when Harry was nearly finished with his essay, his bedroom door burst open. Snape stood in the doorframe, a black bathrobe hanging off his shoulders. He looked like he has just run a mile in less than five minutes. "Potter, come downstairs," he growled, and he strode off as fast as he had come. Curious, Harry jumped up and followed his Potions teacher down the staircase (Harry feeling awkward walking over the place where Lydia had lie) and into the kitchen, where Harry noticed something that wasn't there before: a fireplace. Standing by it and covered in soot stood Arthur Weasley. He looked grim.  
  
"Hello, Harry," was the only solemn greeting.  
  
"Hi, Mr. Weasley. What's going on?"  
  
Snape answered. "Arthur here tells me that the Order of the Phoenix has just received word that Professor Dumbledore has been severely wounded. He was walking through the Ministry of Magic after checking up on the Auror situation and it appears as if a Death Eater stealthily attacked him from behind. He is in St. Mungo's emergency department as we speak."  
  
Whatever Harry was preparing for, it wasn't this. He was in shock until he had to ask one question, "Will he be OK?"  
  
"Harry, that can't be determined for sure yet. Many of the best Healers in the world are already attending to him," Mr. Weasley said. "I'm here because the Order needs as many members to help with this situation as possible, so Severus here will be helping, as well as Molly and myself. You both will have to come to Grimmauld Place immediately. You'll come by Floo Powder."  
  
"I'll go get my trunk." Harry ran upstairs, his head pounding. Dumbledore had been attacked. If Voldemort could get to Dumbledore he could attack anyone else. Harry felt numb. He wasn't safe anymore. Mindlessly, he put his books, quill, and parchment in the trunk again and carried it downstairs along with Hedwig, who had just gotten back from delivering Hermione's and Ron's letters and was sleeping in her cage. She sleepily looked up at Harry as her home moved around her, and then put her head back under her wing to go back to sleep.  
  
Harry dragged his trunk wordlessly into the kitchen where Mr. Weasley picked it up and put it inside the fireplace. "Harry, you go first with your trunk and Hedwig."  
  
Harry stepped into the cramped fireplace, took some powder, threw it down, and said, "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place!" He felt himself swirling in front of many grates on the Floo Network until he got to a familiar fireplace, where he expertly stepped out and found himself immediately embraced and kissed by Mrs. Weasley, taking no heed of the soot that covered him from head to toe.  
  
"Harry, oh Harry! Thank goodness you're safe!" She had a scraggly pink bathrobe on over her pajamas with matching fuzzy slippers. "You must be famished!" she said, and immediately turned to the stove where she started boiling water and busied herself around the kitchen.  
  
Ron and Hermione rushed down the stairs as Mr. Weasley appeared from the fireplace behind Harry. "Harry!" they exclaimed simultaneously as they both ran towards him where Hermione hugged him and Ron patted his back.  
  
"Thank goodness you're all right!" Hermione said sounding exactly like Mrs. Weasley had moments before. "We were so worried!"  
  
"Yeah, it's good that you're OK, mate," Ron said, though it wasn't at all in his usual spirited tone. Pretty soon Snape had entered the room as well and was now talking to Mr. Weasley in a hushed voice. They both rushed out of the room and out the door.  
  
"Business for the Order," Mrs. Weasley said vaguely as if reading Harry's mind, though he knew he could have guessed that. "Now everyone, sit down," she added as she brought over a platter of cinnamon rolls and a mug of hot chocolate for the four of them. "Eat up."  
  
"Mrs. Weasley?"  
  
"Yes, Harry dear?"  
  
"Will Professor Dumbledore be all right?"  
  
"We're not sure," she replied, her usual jovial face saddened. "The best Healers are assisting to him, but he was pretty badly off when Moody and Tonks found him. He is an old man and this has the potential of breaking him. I know he's strong, but even Dumbledore has his weaknesses." She sipped her hot chocolate solemnly.  
  
They ate in silence. Only when Mrs. Weasley finished and went into the other room did Ron and Hermione speak.  
  
"How did Snape treat you, Harry?" Ron asked as he saw his mum go through the door. "Was he foul or was he foul?"  
  
"It was OK, I guess. He was the most humane I've ever seen him."  
  
"It wasn't awful then?" Hermione inquired.  
  
"Actually, no." Harry told them everything, except for his bout with the Ever-Burning Candle.  
  
"And what was his house like?" Ron smirked.  
  
"Filthy," replied Harry, draining the rest of his hot chocolate.  
  
Ron smirked. "Matches his personality then, doesn't it?"  
  
"Well, the staircase was kept spotless," Harry added before he could stop himself.  
  
"I wonder why that could be," Hermione said, with a quizzical look. "Do you know, Harry?"  
  
"No," he lied. He just didn't want to tell them about it since it was evident Snape wanted to keep it private. Harry couldn't believe he was actually respecting Snape's wishes. There was no way he would admit it in front of anyone, but, he felt a great deal of pity towards his professor now. He let Ron and Hermione throw out ideas on the staircase.  
  
"Ron, be reasonable!" Hermione exclaimed when Ron had suggested that maybe he kept it so clean because that was the location of his first-ever contact with an alien life-form. "It must have been really significant to him if he keeps the whole house dirty except for that staircase, which he finds time to wipe off every speck of dirt."  
  
Harry felt his head pounding...Dumbledore injured...Snape had been forced to join the Death Eaters after seeing his mother killed...the murders of countless Aurors every day... Ron and Hermione were still bickering about the possibilities of alien life forms contacting Snape and making him so foul, so Harry excused himself from the table and carried his trunk up the stairs to the room he had stayed in last summer unnoticed. He was now completely exhausted. He noticed a cot spread out for him already, and Ron's belongings scattered all about the room. Not bothering to even take off his shoes, Harry jumped into bed and fell asleep immediately.  
  
* * *  
  
Later that morning, Harry awoke to a glum setting. St. Mungo's hadn't contacted them yet on Dumbledore's progress and nobody had dared considering what would happen if Dumbledore died. Harry pulled himself out of bed and trudged down the stairs to the kitchen, where the whole Weasley family (except for Mr. Weasley) and Hermione were seated around the table. Harry was rather surprised to find Percy Weasley there, having completely ignored his family the previous year. He looked harassed, and much older somehow. The sleek and shiny hair Harry was used to seeing wasn't nearly as well kempt, and there were bags under his eyes hinting a lack of sleep. Everyone dully greeted Harry, Percy especially. They all seemed to be very much distracted. Mrs. Weasley was again bustling around the kitchen, making pancakes this time. "Harry, dear, the pancakes and bacon will be ready in just a minute," she said as he walked in and she flipped them on a huge griddle. He nodded and walked over to sit between George and Ron.  
  
"Why is everyone so glum?" Harry asked George, who was subdued and quiet, much unlike his normal self.  
  
"Emmeline Vance is missing."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"An Auror in the Order here. She was one of the Advance Guard sent to bring you here and was last seen in the Ministry with Dumbledore. There isn't a trace of her."  
  
"Could a Death Eater have kidnapped her?" Harry asked, helping himself to the steaming pancakes and bacon.  
  
"Maybe. It's a possibility, Mum says. Dad has been gone since he and Snape ran off after bringing you here. Mum's really worried about him."  
  
Sure enough, once Harry took a closer look at Mrs. Weasley, she looked extremely tired, and her hair was out of place. He doubted if she had gotten a wink of sleep. Her hands were shaking as she poured more batter on the griddle.  
  
Harry started talking to Ron, who looked quite worn out indeed. He tried to keep the subject matter light, but Ron didn't seem to feel like talking. Harry fell silent.  
  
After five minutes of silence between the two, Ron spoke up, so that only Harry could hear. "I'm worried about Dad. Mum doesn't even know where he is. I mean, if Voldemort could injure Dumbledore, possibly the greatest wizard who ever lived, he could hurt—or even kill—Dad." Ron shuddered in fear. Harry didn't know what to say.  
  
"Well, Mother, I must be off," Percy said to Mrs. Weasley who went over to hug him.  
  
"Do take care of yourself, Percy," she said. "If there are Death Eaters at the Ministry... Oh, just take care!"  
  
When Mrs. Weasley ended the embrace, Percy came over to Harry. "A private word, please, Harry?" Harry stood up and followed Percy to the entryway. "I'm sorry about last year. My behavior was unjustified. I'm sorry to ever doubt you about You-Know-Who's return. Could you ever forgive me?" He stuck out his hand.  
  
Harry looked at Percy and extended hand for a moment and then took it to receive a hearty shake. "Yes."  
  
A sleazy smile came over Percy's face as he shook Harry's hand harder. "Great. I was fearing you wouldn't forgive me."  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"The Ministry. I have to work."  
  
"Are you still Fudge's Junior Assistant?"  
  
"Yes." Percy puffed out his chest like it was the best thing in the world. "The Minister believes You-Know-Who is back, so I do too."  
  
Harry had a strong desire to ask if Percy would follow Fudge if he jumped off a bridge, but he held his tongue. "Bye, then," he said.  
  
"Goodbye." With a loud pop, Percy was gone. 


	5. Unanswered Questions

Chapter 5  
  
Unanswered Questions  
  
"Harry, dear, if you'd leave your booklist on the table after lunch, I'll get your things while I'm in Diagon Alley."  
  
"I'll do that. Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."  
  
"It isn't a problem, dear."  
  
The days just seemed to drag on and on to Harry. He was wondering just how long a week could be. Things were dull around Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Even though his favorite Wizarding family in the world surrounded Harry, he found it difficult to enjoy their company. Strangely enough, Harry wanted to go back to Snape's house to prepare for his Aurorship. He didn't feel like he was accomplishing anything by just sitting around and watching people of the Order come and go. Ever since Dumbledore had been attacked, Harry felt uneasy with himself and his surroundings. The headmaster would be all right, they learned the previous day, but it would take a few weeks for him to recover. He wasn't as young as he used to be.  
  
"I'm surprised he survived the blow at all," one Healer had told them. "It seems as a very powerful spell was used, and has killed many people younger than Albus Dumbledore."  
  
"Professor Dumbledore isn't just an ordinary man," Harry had replied indignantly. "He's stronger than you might think."  
  
"I won't disagree with you there, Mr. Potter. If it had been someone else, they would have for sure died. Dumbledore seems to have a hidden strength that not many of us have."  
  
"Thank goodness he'll be all right," Mrs. Weasley said, falling into a nearby chair and looking the most relieved she had all that week.  
  
* * *  
  
After they learned of Dumbledore's status, September the first seemed to come rapidly. Harry finally was starting to enjoy himself. "Ready to go, Harry?" Ron asked Harry as he walked in their room, where Harry had been packing. Throwing things around the room like mad, Harry gave a muffled response. "What was that?" Ron asked again.  
  
Harry came up from under the bed. "I said I'll be there in a minute; I can't find my Standard Book of Spells Level Six."  
  
"Is this it?" Ron asked, walking farther into the room and picking a book off a chair.  
  
"Oh yeah, thanks." Harry stuffed the book into his trunk.  
  
"Ready to go now?"  
  
"Yeah, I think I have everything," Harry said as he looked around the room again.  
  
"Great, then let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
Kingsley Shacklebolt accompanied the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione to the station. "I suppose it's too far to walk?" he asked. Ron and Harry gave him looks. He had to be joking. "I knew it was," he said, laughing. "That's why I brought along this Muggle form of transportation," he said, gesturing as seven bicycles appeared out of midair.  
  
Ron looked at them in disgust. "And how exactly are you supposed to ride one of these...things?" he asked, examining them. Hermione stepped up, showing the Weasleys how to ride a bike. Although Harry wasn't supposed to know how, he had snuck into the garage one day when he was bored to ride on Dudley's unused bike. He jumped on one and rode it around expertly.  
  
"Now, Mr. Weasley, you get on it like this," Hermione showed him again, "then you put your feet in the pedals, kick off, and keep on pedaling." Mr. Weasley looked absolutely fascinated.  
  
While Harry was watching Hermione and Mr. Weasley, he almost lost his balance. He could have sworn that he would fall, but a force kept him up. "Kingsley?"  
  
"Hmm?" the Auror asked distractedly as he watched the redheads make attempts to keep balanced on their bikes.  
  
"Are there some form of charm on these things?"  
  
"Oh, yes there is, Harry. A Balancing Charm was placed upon each of them. There is no way they'll fall, therefore a less likely chance someone will get injured." He placed a trunk on the back of his bike, where it shrunk to the size of a small shoebox. "Shrinking Charm," he said before Harry could ask. "Everything is smaller and lighter, but they'll grow back to their normal sizes when we get to the station."  
  
Harry saw Ron violently sway, when the same unseen force kept him up. "Ready to go, everyone?" Kingsley shouted above the racket.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then let's get going."  
  
* * *  
  
At first the ride to the station was uneasy, with the inexperienced riders furiously wobbling every now and then, but eventually, it became quite a leisurely ride. The Weasleys seemed to be enjoying it. Mr. Weasley was rather impressed with the gears. "The things Muggles come up with!" he commented as he almost biked off the curb.  
  
Before they knew it, the seven were at King's Cross, and the bikes disappeared once they were freed of their burdens of the trunks.  
  
"Look, everyone!" came the all too recognizable voice of Draco Malfoy right as Harry stepped out of the barrier. "Here comes Potter, the soon to be youngest Auror of all time. How long do you think he'll last? Two days? Two hours?" Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, Malfoy's cronies chuckled dumbly. Every summer, the two just seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Harry was wondering if they would ever grow out of the available school robes. Pansy Parkinson appeared out of nowhere and shrieked with glee at Malfoy's comment. "And he's still connected with the poorest Wizarding family on Earth."  
  
Harry felt Ron twitch in retaliation at his side, so he seized Ron's arm, without letting Malfoy see. "Ignore him," he muttered to Ron, "he's only trying to cause trouble."  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all pushed their trolleys up to the bright red steam engine that was already waiting. They all said goodbye to Kingsley and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley before they climbed aboard.  
  
"Harry, do be careful," Mrs. Weasley told him during a rather long embrace. "If You-Know-Who can get to Professor Dumbledore, he can get to you. Train and study hard." She gave him an extra squeeze and the four Hogwarts students hopped on the train.  
  
* * *  
  
"How do you think Malfoy got hold of the information that you're training to become an Auror, Harry?" Hermione asked after Ginny left them with their own compartment. "Mr. Weasley said it was top secret information."  
  
"I don't know, but with Malfoy blurting it all around school, everyone will know soon enough."  
  
"It's his dad," Ron said. "He always seems to have secret ways of getting into the Ministry files. Rubbed off on dear old Draco, didn't he?" Ron sneered.  
  
"Wasn't he arrested at the end of last year?" Hermione inquired again.  
  
Ron lowered his voice. "Someone bailed Lucius Malfoy out of jail, Dad told me."  
  
"Who would have had that much money?"  
  
"I don't know, but whoever it is kept themselves secret and preferred to do it anonymously."  
  
Harry thought for a minute. "Voldemort did it."  
  
"But didn't he throw Malfoy out of his circle?" Hermione inquired again.  
  
"Malfoy's dad was one of the Death Eaters in Voldemort's closest circle. He knew too much about their little clan that he was extremely dangerous if he let information slip to the Ministry. Voldemort knows Lucius Malfoy has to either be his group of Death Eaters, or dead. He can't afford a loose Death Eater exposing all his secrets."  
  
"It wasn't You-Know-Who bringing in that money, was it?" Ron asked hesitantly.  
  
"No. Whatever Voldemort is, he's not stupid. He must have hired one of his loyal followers to bring it in for him. He couldn't risk getting caught or have the Ministry know about his group."  
  
Silence fell throughout the compartment.  
  
"Was there a Secret Keeper involved with me becoming an Auror and all?" Harry asked.  
  
"I'm not sure. The only person I'd trust with that kind of secret would be Dumbledore, and we all know what happened to him..." Hermione trailed off, leaving them in an awkward silence.  
  
"What if an imposter somehow got into Dumbledore's hospital room and forced it out of him while he's weak?"  
  
Hermione thought for a while. "That's the most reasonable idea you've ever come up with in your whole life, Ron," she said, smiling. Ron glared at her.  
  
"I suppose now that Voldemort knows I'm training to become an Auror he'll just be more dedicated to kill me off once and for all," Harry said, miserably while looking out the window at the overcast skies.  
  
"Let's get your mind off of this, Harry," Hermione said, concerned.  
  
"Yeah, hey, Fred and George invented this high-quality Exploding Snap card deck this summer. Want to play?" Ron asked, producing a small, hand crafted wooden box. Harry recognized the wood as cherry.  
  
"Sure," Harry said unenthusiastically. "So their joke shop is doing fairly well?"  
  
"Fairly well? They're just racking in the Galleons with that shop! You should see the constant hustle and bustle going through it every day of the week."  
  
Harry managed a faint smile.  
  
* * *  
  
After countless games of Exploding Snap and Harry finally feeling a bit better, the Hogwarts Express started to slow. Harry, Ron, and Hermione changed into their robes and packed the remainder of the food into their trunks. The train stopped, but not at the station in Hogsmeade. Harry had witnessed this type of confusion once before in his third year when he met up with dementors for the first time. They all heard a scream coming from the car in front of them, so Harry jumped up and ran as fast as he could, Hermione and Ron at his heels.  
  
Once Harry entered the car, he felt suddenly cold. Looking around, he saw about twenty dementors, each cornering a student. They weren't the dementors Harry was used to either. These creatures stood at least three feet taller than the dementors who guarded Azkaban, and each had a red mark sewn into their robes. "The Dark Mark!" Hermione exclaimed next to him.  
  
Ignoring his own fear, Harry bellowed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Turning from their victims, the dementors all looking at Harry through the silver stag that remained idle in front of him. Voldemort had trained them, as they were even more vicious than Harry remembered them. They all started on Harry, so gathering his happiest memory, Harry continued, "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" The stag started running in the direction of the dementors and knocked them off their feet, but they stood back up again almost immediately. "EXPECTO PATRONUM!! EXPECTO PATRONUM!!! EXPECTO PATRONUM!!!!" The stag grew even bigger. When it rushed towards the dementors this time, half of them fled.  
  
"EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry realized he wasn't the only one yelling the curse when Hermione's voice came from over his right shoulder. Even though hers was very feeble compared to his, the two combined chased the remaining dementors off the train.  
  
Harry almost collapsed against the wall he was so exhausted. His breathing was heavy and ragged, and he noticed the whole compartment was staring at him, amazed at what he had just done. The younger students were astounded.  
  
"Wow," came the familiar voice of Neville Longbottom, "that was the most impressive spell I've ever seen."  
  
"It was nothing," Harry said quickly, trying to get Neville to be quiet so that Malfoy wouldn't hear about it.  
  
"That was more than nothing," came a female voice that Harry couldn't place at first until he turned around. It was Cho Chang. "I've never seen anything like it either."  
  
"Really, it was nothing, it was just a Patronus..."  
  
"A Patronus that grew almost to the size of this whole train car!" she said as the train went into motion again. Harry hadn't taken notice of the size of it. "Those dementors seemed different somehow...like they were more powerful. I remember when Sirius Black was on the loose and those evil creatures came onto the train. They were bad back then, but they're worse now."  
  
"Voldemort has trained them," Harry said, the depressing topic coming back to him yet again. "They are his servants, bound to him for life. That's why so many prisoners are escaping from Azkaban. The dementors aren't there to guard it anymore. More prisoners out of Azkaban, more Aurors killed each day."  
  
"You should become an Auror, Harry," Cho said immediately, maneuvering him into a compartment where there was less attention on him. "All the qualities are there."  
  
"I'm considering it," Harry replied, knowing he was forbidden to tell Cho about his secret training with Snape.  
  
"You taught us Defense Against the Dark Arts last year," she replied. "That takes a lot of effort and quite a bit of knowledge of the spells."  
  
"I've had experience with confronting Voldemort face-to-face. It's nothing fancy."  
  
"Harry, escaping You-Know-Who once is a great accomplishment. You've escaped him six times and you're only sixteen."  
  
"He's after me just because of that dumb prophecy last year. I'm not any special person just because he's curious to know what and why that prophecy says what it says."  
  
"I miss you, Harry," Cho said, veering off the subject completely. "I wish we could recreate last year. I really like you."  
  
Harry didn't know what to say. He really liked Cho too, but he just couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. "I have to go pack up some more of my stuff. We're almost there," he lied, dodging out of the compartment and towards his own, leaving Cho confused.  
  
* * *  
  
"Why did conductors stop for the dementors if they had the Dark Mark emblazoned on the front of their robes for everyone to see?" Ron asked as Harry entered his compartment again.  
  
"They couldn't see the Dark Mark because of the lack of light," Hermione said. "They thought they were coming on the train to look for escaped Death Eaters or something of the sort."  
  
"When really they were sent to search the train for me," Harry said miserably as the train jolted forward and started to accelerate to full speed again. He sat down on his seat again and looked out the window at the darkness, sulking.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry walked off the train with Hermione and Ron on either side of him. A man twice the height of a regular man and three times as broad was standing over everyone's heads, holding a lantern. "Firs' years o'er here! C'mon, don' be shy. Firs' years! O'er here!"  
  
"Hi, Hagrid," Harry said as the trio weaved their way through the crowd to get to their friend.  
  
"Why, hello, Harry! Yeh have a good summer an' all?" Hagrid replied, but Harry noticed the usual happy glint in his eye wasn't there.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," Harry replied vaguely. "It was OK."  
  
"Tha's good. Oi! Yeh a firs' year?" he asked a small boy who was a fourth the height of Hagrid and whose face looked green. Harry, Ron, and Hermione left Hagrid to rounding up the new students and walked over to the carriages pulled by ugly horse-like creatures with wings Harry recognized as thestrals. The three jumped into a carriage with Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, and Neville Longbottom and were on their way to the castle.  
  
They made small talk about their summers, Harry eliminating everything that involved becoming an Auror and the things that involved the Order of the Phoenix, which made his summer sound almost as dull as Professor Binns' History of Magic class. Neville had gone on a vacation to Ireland, while Parvati and Lavender apparently spent the entire summer at each other's houses. They all fell silent after only a few minutes.  
  
"We saw your Patronus, Harry," Lavender told him, in awe. "It was the most impressive spell I think I've ever seen."  
  
"Really, it was nothing..." Harry started, but Parvati cut him off.  
  
"How did you get it to be so powerful, Harry?"  
  
"I just keep at it. Seriously, though, I wasn't trying to be brave or courageous or anything..."  
  
"It drove off all those dementors. Even when they were more powerful than ever before," Neville started contributing to the conversation.  
  
"Hermione helped..."  
  
In a corner, Hermione snorted with sarcastic laughter. "Compared to yours mine was nothing."  
  
To Harry's relief, the carriages slowed and stopped in front of the main entrance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The six melded together with the rest of the crowd and made their way up the steps and into the Entrance Hall where Peeves the poltergeist was waiting for them with spitballs and gross, slimy things that Harry had a bad feeling were the guts of an animal.  
  
"Potter, a word please?" came the strict voice of Professor Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher, substitute headmistress, and head of Gryffindor House.  
  
Harry nodded, wondering what he had done this time. He followed her to her office, dodging spitballs as he went, where she closed the door after he had entered. "Quidditch Captain, Potter."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're the Quidditch Captain of the Gryffindor House team this year," she said crisply, but she couldn't hide a small smile as she added, "I have much enjoyed seeing the look on Severus' face as Gryffindor defeated Slytherin yet again last year in the match for the Cup. You're a good flier, Potter. An extraordinarily good flier. As team captain you are required to fill vacated positions. The Gryffindor team took a hard blow last year and only has three players returning this year: Ron Weasley, Katie Bell, and you. It's up to you to find two Beaters and two Chasers. You'd better find yourself some high quality players, Potter. The Weasley twins, Angelina, and Alicia are some of the best Gryffindor Quidditch players I've ever seen come through this school. I'd very much like the Cup to remain in my office," she told him while gesturing towards a pedestal that held the highly polished, large, silver Quidditch Cup. "In addition to finding more players, you'll have to schedule practices and book the field for practice. You may do that by signing up on Madam Hooch's office door. I strongly suggest you practice every night you can. Over half of your team will be new."  
  
"What about my lifetime ban from playing Quidditch?"  
  
McGonagall snorted. "Did you really think we would keep that foul Umbridge woman's rules and regulations, Potter?"  
  
"Well...no, I just didn't know. And what about those substitute Beaters they put in for Fred and George last year?"  
  
"They'll have to properly try out for the team. With Beaters like them, Gryffindor would never win the Quidditch Cup."  
  
"Is that all?" he asked, getting ready to leave.  
  
"No, I'm afraid not, but I'll have to make this go fairly quickly as the first years are probably almost across the lake by now," she added, glancing at her watch. "Potter, how are the Auror training sessions coming along?"  
  
"Pretty good. I think I'm really making some good progress.  
  
"How far have you gotten?"  
  
"I can produce a fairly good Web of Life and I've worked on a bit of deflecting, but we didn't get beyond that."  
  
"Well, it's a good start, Potter. You are aware that a week from now is your first training session with Professor Tonks?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Professor McGonagall sighed. "With Dumbledore injured and everything, the sooner you can become an Auror the better. I just hope you're aware that the training to become an Auror usually lasts three years and you're fitting it in two years, even though you have school and Quidditch to keep up with."  
  
"I am aware of this, Professor."  
  
"May I ask what you received on your Potions O.W.L.?"  
  
"Exceeds Expectations."  
  
"Good, good. Potter, please get on Professor Snape's good side and stay there. You won't be able to become an Auror if you don't receive another 'E' on your Potions N.E.W.T. I don't want all this training to go to waste."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
"I'm glad. You know if you need any help, the door is always open here. I told that wretched Umbridge woman last year that I would make sure you became an Auror if it was the last thing I did and I intend to keep that promise. I'll help you in any way I can."  
  
"Thank you, Professor."  
  
McGonagall looked at her watch again. "We have to get along to the feast quickly, Potter. I have to be there before the Sorting. Come quickly." Harry followed her brisk steps out of the room.  
  
* * *  
  
"As many of you know, Professor Dumbledore is currently residing in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries due to an attack by a supporter of Lord Voldemort." The student body started buzzing upon hearing Professor McGonagall speak the Dark Lord's name for the first time in public. "This does not mean that Hogwarts is closed. What it does mean, however, is that many precautions will have to be put into play. Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Tonks," McGonagall had not mentioned Tonks' name yet, so most every student craned their necks to catch a glimpse of their new teacher, "will be teaching you practical defenses for encounters with Voldemort and his followers." Tonks stood up and waved. She had her bright pink spiked hair again and worn black robes that were torn in some places, but Tonks wore them like they were the most fashionable clothes in the world. Many students were gaping at her, astounded at her appearance. "Professor Tonks is a highly qualified Auror as well as a Metamorphmagus, or someone who can change their appearance whenever they want or need to." Tonks changed her hair to a violent shade of electric blue to the student body's amazement. "I expect you will all treat her with the utmost respect.  
  
"On a lighter note, Quidditch practices will start up soon, so the team captains had better get started with their tryouts for new players. The first match will be set for Saturday, November 11th, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw." Harry's heart sank. He had to face Cho. "The next weekend, the 18th will be Slytherin versus Hufflepuff. The Captains for this year will inform their teams when practices will start. Tomorrow is a big day for us all so let's all turn in early to get some sleep."  
  
* * *  
  
"Quidditch Captain?" Ron asked Harry, astonished.  
  
"Yeah. McGonagall told me this evening."  
  
"Captain?!"  
  
"Ron, seriously, how could you not expect Harry to take up that position?" Hermione asked, obviously annoyed with Ron's petty behavior.  
  
"I know he's good, but I guess it just surprised me."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Who's the Ravenclaw captain this year?" she asked as they walked through the portrait of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Cho Chang," Ron replied immediately. Ever since that git Robert Davities or whatever his name left..."  
  
"Roger Davies," Hermione corrected quickly, earning a disapproving look from Ron, which she returned with a glare.  
  
"Anyway," Ron continued, "Chang is a great Quidditch player, but last year took a toll on their team. Davies will be hard to replace."  
  
"We have quite a hole ourselves," Harry said, plopping himself on his favorite chair inside the common room. Hermione and Ron sat in the chairs across from and next to him.  
  
"You're going to be able to fill that, won't you?" Ron asked nervously.  
  
"I hope so. Which reminds me, there had better be a tryout session this week..." Harry took out a quill and a piece of parchment and started writing:  
  
Attention: All Gryffindors! Tryouts for this year's House Team will be held Thursday, September 4th at the Quidditch field. We are looking for two Beaters and two Chasers. Talk to Harry Potter with any questions.  
  
When he was done, Harry tacked his notice up on the bulletin board in the common room, which was emptying fast. Fifteen minutes later, he was sleeping in his dormitory. 


	6. Zachary Lyons

Chapter 6  
  
Zachary Lyons  
  
The morning came all too fast for most students of Hogwarts. Sleepily, everyone somehow managed to drag themselves out of the comfortable beds to the cold and crisp morning. Harry couldn't seem to get himself out of a sleepy haze. He walked down the stairs into the common room half awake and still half asleep. The room was bustling with excitement and Harry could see that many were talking about his prominent sign on the bulletin board.  
  
"Think I could make it?" an excited first year asked another.  
  
"But first years aren't allowed to join the Quidditch House teams."  
  
"Harry Potter did," the boy who was first talking defended himself. Harry stifled a laugh, for this boy had an uncanny resemblance to Neville Longbottom.  
  
Harry found Ron and Hermione sitting on their favorite armchairs, waiting for him. Ron looked like he was about to burst out laughing. "Hey, guys. What's up?" Harry asked, coming up to them. Ron gestured for Harry to stop talking. They listened to another group of unlikely candidates for the Gryffindor team.  
  
"I was the star of my Muggle school basketball team, so Mum says I'm guaranteed a position on the team," an incredibly good-looking, but egocentric boy was telling a giddy group of girls who were looking up at him in awe. "It should be a cinch. Basketball fifty feet in the air."  
  
"Have you even played Quidditch?" Ron couldn't resist asking in an overly loud voice. The boy searched unsuccessfully for the source of the taunting.  
  
"No, but it looks easy enough," he said, figuring it was just one of his many admirers. He then walked out of the portrait hole, his groupies following behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
"Who does that kid think he is?" Ron asked after the Quidditch star wannabe left the common room, taking his enthusiasts with him. "'It should be a cinch.' I hope when he tries out his broom kicks him off and he breaks both his legs."  
  
"Ron!" Hermione screeched, disapprovingly. "He's a fellow Gryffindor!"  
  
"I have a bad feeling about him," Harry said, agreeing with Ron. "It almost seems like he's plotting something. Who is he anyway?"  
  
"Zachary Lyons. He's in his third year."  
  
"How come you know all about him? Are you one of those groupies now, Hermione?"  
  
"No! Just unlike some people, I have taken my prefect duties seriously and have taken the time to get to know the younger students in Gryffindor."  
  
"You have to admit that he seems like he would be the kind to cause trouble," Harry told Hermione.  
  
"I know he has been trouble ever since he arrived here two years ago, but it was just for petty stuff; things that we've done."  
  
"You make us sound like common criminals, Hermione," Ron replied.  
  
"I'm just saying that we don't exactly have clean records."  
  
"Oh, cut it out, you two," Harry said, yawning. He wasn't about to listen to them bicker for the next few hours. "Let's go and get some breakfast."  
  
They walked down the Great Hall along with many other Gryffindor students. Zachary Lyons was strutting around the Entrance Hall, his clique still grouping around him. "Why does he have to be here?" Ron asked in a loud, boisterous voice.  
  
Hermione just rolled her eyes.  
  
"Let's go eat," Harry said, hurriedly, before another brawl took place between his best friends.  
  
* * *  
  
"Schedules," Hermione said, magically producing their three schedules, looking intently at hers before even sitting down. "Yes, we have Defense Against the Dark Arts first, then Charms, then Care of Magical Creatures, and then Arithmancy, well, for me anyway. I don't think we've ever had Defense Against the Dark Arts the first day back, do you?"  
  
"Not that I can remember," Harry said, taking a bite out of a strip of bacon while still looking at his schedule.  
  
Ron wasn't paying attention to his classes; he was too busy looking up at the staff table. "Where's Snape?" he asked in a hopeful, yet quiet voice. "He was here last night. D'you reckon an irreversible potion backfired on him?"  
  
"Not very likely," Harry said immediately, fully knowing that Snape tended to have his reasons for any absences he may have. Sure enough, Professor Snape limped in from the unseen door in back of the staff table. Harry knew it had to be something to do with the Order, as Snape looked exhausted, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Harry couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for his professor.  
  
"Let's get going," Hermione said, ushering them out of the Great Hall. "I want to get a good seat for Tonks' first lesson.  
  
* * *  
  
Hermione wasn't the only one who wanted to reserve a good seat for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. Seated in the front rows sat over half the class, eagerly talking amongst themselves. Harry led them to a table closer to the back of the room. Ten minutes later, Draco Malfoy swaggered into the classroom, closely followed by his fellow Slytherins. Tonks bounded in soon after them.  
  
"Good morning! As Professor McGonagall has already told you, my name is Professor Tonks and I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher these next two years," she started cheerily. "As last year you apparently took a hiatus from rigorous Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, we'll have to learn a lot this year."  
  
"What is the point of learning from a Metamorphmagus? Doesn't everyone know they're messed up in the head?" Malfoys' drawling voice came from the back of the room. Tonks' cheery smile faded as she turned towards Malfoy.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy?" she asked, before she had turned her head completely towards him. "Ah, yes, I've had the pleasure to meet your father in quite—tricky situations. I don't care if you don't like my class. You'll respect me and the rest of your classmates in and out of this classroom. Ten points from Slytherin. Do you understand me?" Harry glanced over at Tonks, whose hair had turned a bright red—not from embarrassment, but from a sudden hatred. She did not stand much taller than Malfoy's sitting form, but at that moment, anyone would have been scared of her. Ron snickered as Malfoy cowered in his chair. "Now, where was I?" she asked, continuing on as if nothing happened.  
  
"Um, Professor?" Hermione asked, raising her hand timidly.  
  
"Just call me Tonks. Oh, that's another thing. I don't want any of this formal 'professor' junk."  
  
"Tonks, then," Hermione corrected herself. "Will we be learning how to perform the Web of Life?"  
  
"Yes. I was just getting to that. As a newly instated Ministry requirement—just three days ago, as a matter of fact--Hogwarts students sixth year and above will learn more complex incantations for protecting themselves against supporters of Lord Voldemort. Normally taught to Aurors alone, these will require much more training than you would find a regular spell to take. The Web of Life is a new, but exceedingly complex spell. It needs someone's full attention and all energy possible in order to work properly. At first it was going to be a spell only future Aurors would learn, but because of recent events..." Tonks' voice broke, "the Ministry has decided to make it a requirement for sixth and seventh year students to learn. The world won't be safe until someone vanquishes Voldemort.  
  
"Now, we'll start off with the Web of Life. Some background information: a successful Web will produce a highly effective shield around you and although it looks like a spell can penetrate the thin silver strands that make up the Web, none can, not even Avada Kedavra.  
  
"Dumbledore discovered this method of providing a shield for yourself and taught it to the Auror Department in the Ministry. Brilliant man, Dumbledore... I'll come around the classroom and check each of your Webs in turn. Practice with a partner using Stunning Spells. Let's see what we can do..."  
  
* * *  
  
"How you coming along, Harry?" Tonks whispered in his ear as he shot as weak of a Stunner as he could produce towards Ron's incomplete spell. Just as Harry expected, it knocked his red haired friend flat.  
  
"Pretty well," came Harry's reply. "Only, I know how to do this already. Couldn't I be studying my own Auror materials?"  
  
"In time, Harry, in time," Tonks replied, putting her hand on his shoulder and continuing on to check on Hermione and Neville.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione emerged from their Charms classroom even more exhausted than they had been coming from Tonks'. Every teacher appeared to be piling on the work even higher than usual, and Ron was not too happy about it. "Why do we have to learn all this junk?" he asked in a disgruntled mood.  
  
Hermione shot him a look. "Haven't you been listening to your teachers?" she shrieked. "Voldemort is steadily gaining even more power, and we all must unite against him! Although Harry is the only one who can kill him, we all must do what we can to keep control from the Death Eaters. If they gain control, then Harry doesn't even have a chance."  
  
"Sheez, Hermione. I wasn't questioning the Ministry's way of doing things, especially now that that foul Umbridge woman is out of there."  
  
"Well it sure sounded like it," she snapped back and stomped ahead of them down to the Great Hall for lunch.  
  
"What's eating her?" Ron asked Harry.  
  
"Everyone is at their wits' ends nowadays," Harry replied.  
  
* * *  
  
Hermione started talking to them again, but not after a day of sulking. Before they knew it, Thursday had arrived and Harry, Ron, and Hermione made their way down to the Quidditch field. Hermione claimed that she wanted to watch, but after a closer look at her, the first week of rigorous schooling was getting even to her.  
  
Harry glanced around at everyone who had shown up for the tryouts. Zachary Lyons was there, his fan club following close behind, and Ginny was trying out for Chaser. Besides them, Harry didn't recognize anyone else in the crowd of younger students.  
  
"Good luck with finding someone," Hermione said, making her way to the stands. Katie Bell flew overhead.  
  
"Hi, Katie," both Harry and Ron said to her as she dismounted.  
  
"Hi," she replied, looking around with disgust at everyone who had come to tryout. "Nobody looks good enough to even stay on a broom, do they?"  
  
"Well...yes. I'm sure a lot of them have hidden talent, though."  
  
"Hidden talent?" Ron asked, snorting with laughter. "You've got to be kidding, Harry."  
  
"Harry! Harry! We aren't late, are we?" came the all to familiar squeaky voice of Colin Creevey, his brother Dennis at his side. "We almost forgot, but lucky we remembered at the last minute, huh, Harry?"  
  
"Yeah, lucky," came the sarcastic reply from Ron.  
  
"Shall we get started, then?" Harry asked Katie and Ron.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Let the torture begin."  
  
"Can I please have everyone's attention?" Harry asked the group of hopefuls. Before he knew it, all was quiet. "I would like to thank you all for coming out here tonight to tryout for the four positions vacated after last year. As you know, we are looking for two Chasers and two Beaters. Would the people going for Chaser stand over here and the Beaters over here?" He gestured to his left and right side. People were hesitant at first, but after a "for goodness sakes" from Ginny, she strode out to Harry's right side. Glad not to be the first one, the others followed. "Thanks, Ginny," Harry muttered. She smiled back. "OK, now..."  
  
"Harry! Harry, we'll try out too!" Turning to the voices, Harry spotted Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas running his way. He let out a sigh of relief. Harry knew his friends were fine Quidditch players. Maybe the Gryffindor team wouldn't be so bad after all.  
  
"Beaters or Chasers?" Harry called out.  
  
"Beaters!" The Captain pointed them towards the line to his left.  
  
"Now, we'll start with the open Chaser positions." Harry turned to his right where there was a long line of students eagerly awaiting his instructions. "Ron will guard the hoops, Katie will be a fellow Chaser with you, and I will pretend to be a player on the opposing team. You will attempt ten shots, and the best out of ten will continue on. If there is a tie for either of the positions, we'll have a face off. Does everyone understand?" Some nodded, but most couldn't move their heads at all, as their faces looked rather green. "Then let's go. Who's the first in line?" Ginny stepped confidently forward from the first position. "Ginny? Come on and let's see what you can do."  
  
* * *  
  
Ginny's performance was spectacular. She worked well with Katie, and all of her shots but one went in. Ron had practiced during the summer months, but apparently with his sister as she scoped out his every move. After her, though, it all went downhill. Some students couldn't even catch Katie's passes. One fell off her broom and Harry had to take a break in order to help her to the hospital wing. Meanwhile, Zachary Lyons stood calmly on the side, watching with amusement. He walked over to Harry when it was his turn to try out. "If that's all you can come up with, Potter, this team is in trouble."  
  
"Let's see you, then," Harry said menacingly. His lip was bleeding freely because Ron accidentally punched him in the face while making a spectacular save. Harry really was not in a good mood.  
  
"OK." Zachary Lyons hopped onto his broom and kicked off the ground expertly. He took control of the Quaffle immediately and before they knew it had a goal in his favor. Harry sat in midair, awestruck. He threw the red ball back to Lyons. Again, he threw it straight through the middle hoop, ignoring Katie completely. Pretty soon, Zachary Lyons had made every one of his ten attempts, but did not acknowledge the presence of his fellow Chaser.  
  
"We'll discuss this, and then will continue on with the shootout," Harry told the contestants. He gestured to Ron and Katie to fly over for them to converse.  
  
"Not Lyons," Ron and Katie said immediately.  
  
"He's the only one who completed all ten of his shots," Harry said.  
  
"He still gives me the creeps," Ron said. "There's just something about him that reminds me subtly of Malfoy."  
  
"And he hogs the Quaffle."  
  
"I know, but you have to admit that he's good," Harry said.  
  
"He's good all right, but need a lesson that there's no 'I' in team," Katie said rudely.  
  
"What's got you two all in a huffy about this kid?"  
  
"It's just as Ron said, Harry. There's something dark about him. He just seems to conceded to be on the team and also just seems too much like that jerk Draco Malfoy."  
  
"We decided that this is how we would choose our players, seeing who can make the most shots." Harry didn't know why he was defending this kid, since he couldn't ignore his own feeling that he was up to something.  
  
"Please, mate, not Lyons."  
  
"All he needs is a chance," Harry decided. "He's on the team, and if he doesn't improve his attitude, he's off, OK?"  
  
Ron and Katie sighed. "Works for me if that's your final offer," Katie said.  
  
"And a shootout between Ginny and that one fifth-year Vince somebody or another to decide who's on the team?"  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
Harry turned to address the crowd of Gryffindors. "Zachary Lyons, could you come here?" He came flying towards them from a corner of the field. "Congratulations, you're on the team." The third year smiled, exposing perfectly white teeth. His groupies cheered and screamed from the stands as he gave them the thumbs up sign.  
  
"Ginny and Vince, could you please come forward? I thank the rest of you for coming to tryouts. Keep in mind that next year we'll have a vacated position as well..." Katie glared at him, "...but that's still a ways off, right Katie?" He winked at her and she smiled. Ginny and Vince flew up to the veterans. "OK, you both only missed one out of the ten attempts, which is a great accomplishment. Vince, what is your last name?" Harry asked, turning to the tall, skinny fifth year in front of him.  
  
"Larson, sir."  
  
"Call me Harry, if you would. Now, you two will be involved in the shootout. It will happen in the same fashion as before, but only five shots to each of you. Good luck."  
  
* * *  
  
Ginny was to be a Gryffindor Chaser. She didn't miss one of her shots, and Vince missed one, by millimeters. They all touched down, Ginny all smiles and Vince looking rather disappointed with himself. Harry approached him. "Don't get down on yourself, Vince," he said, patting the fifth year's shoulder. "There's always next year." Vince stood about three inches taller than Ron, reaching well over six feet.  
  
"Thanks, Harry," Vince replied, smiling.  
  
"Now, on to the Beaters..."  
  
* * *  
  
Luckily, there weren't as many trying out for the Beater positions as there were Chasers. They tried out in pairs, and the Creevey brothers were first up. Bludgers pelted the mousy boys, and their ratings from the veterans on the team were rather poor. Seamus and Dean came up next, expertly pounding away at the Bludgers with their short bats. Harry knew they would be the new Beaters for the team, but respectfully sat through the remaining participants.  
  
"Again, thank you all for willing yourselves to try out tonight. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas, you're in." The pair clapped their bats together in jubilation while the others disappointedly filtered out of the stadium. Hermione was still in the stands, but from what Harry could tell, had fallen asleep. "First official team meeting!" he called to his teammates who gathered around him. "I have reserved the field for a practice tomorrow evening. Since we have an inexperienced team this year, it would be best to start practicing as soon as possible. We'll have practice on Saturday and Sunday afternoons too, so be prepared for that. Otherwise, congratulations on making it to the team again, and get a good night's sleep for tomorrow. You're free to go." 


	7. Lurking in the Dark

Chapter 7  
Lurking in the Dark  
  
Harry found his classes on the following day a breeze...until it was time for Potions.  
  
He had somehow managed to avoid Snape after the Auror training sessions, but now had to face his least favorite teacher of all time for Double Potions. Harry, Hermione, and Dean Thomas were the only Gryffindors who somehow managed to find a way into Snape's N.E.W.T. course. All the sixth year Slytherins were there, not surprising Harry the least. Justin Finch- Fletchley and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff and Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw were also there. They looked relieved when Harry, Hermione, and Dean walked in.  
  
"Hi," Harry told the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students.  
  
"Hi," they replied back. Justin Finch-Fletchley looked extremely irritated.  
  
"Look at that," he said, gesturing towards the Slytherin students. "He isn't giving a fair opportunity to all students.  
  
"Justin, it's Professor Snape," Hermione reminded him. "He'll always favor the Slytherins."  
  
"Some of us actually want to do something with our lives, though, and due to him, many won't be able to pursue their dreams. Hermione, you're five times as smart as all of them put together."  
  
Hermione blushed with embarrassment, but said no more.  
  
Just then, Snape walked into his dungeon. "Take a seat, all of you." He looked around the room and sneered at the non-Slytherin half. "If I had had my way, I wouldn't have taken students not...deserving of this course. The headmaster's interventions, however, have included these students. This class will be a rigorous one, and I refuse to accept anyone next year that does not meet my standards. I expect you to pay close attention each and every day in class. We will be using dangerous ingredients for most all potions created in this classroom this year. I expect you all..." Snape shot a look at Harry, "...to exercise extreme caution. Some potions are deadly if swallowed. We wouldn't want any mishaps in this classroom, now would we?" Another look shot at Harry. Although Harry knew Snape had seen his mother's death, he was having problems holding in his temper. "Now, some rules and regulations..."  
  
* * *  
  
The rest of Snape's class was just like that: long and drawn out. Harry took detailed notes, in fear of a pop quiz on all the information Snape was giving them, but found it rather hard to concentrate. He had a horrible feeling that he wouldn't succeed in the N.E.W.T. Potions course as the bell rang and they all stood up to go. "Hang on, everyone," Snape's drawling voice told them as they neared the door. "Over the weekend, take this list of potion ingredients and write two paragraphs each about what they're used for, where to find them, and what they look like. We will go over them in class, but anyone not finished with it first thing Monday morning receives detention," he said while passing out a piece of parchment with forty ingredients on it. "Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes sir," came the collective mumble of the class.  
  
"Good. Now off with you."  
  
* * *  
  
"Can you believe him?" Michael Corner asked as the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws ascended the staircase. "Forty terms, two paragraphs each! That'll take ages, that will. And I thought my first weekend was going to be relaxing..."  
  
"I have Quidditch practice every day this weekend," Harry said simply.  
  
"That's right, you're Gryffindor Quidditch Captain this year, aren't you, Harry?"  
  
"Um...yeah."  
  
"I play Keeper for Ravenclaw. Cho hasn't set up practices yet, nor has she tried to fill the vacated positions."  
  
"How many did you lose from last year?"  
  
"We took a hard hit, losing five of our seven. Cho and I are the only ones left. We're definitely out of the running for the Cup since we'll have such a rookie team."  
  
Harry and Michael made small talk until the Gryffindors parted from the other two groups to go up to their common room. Before they knew it, Hermione, Harry, and Dean found themselves in the Gryffindor common room where Ron was waiting for them.  
  
"Harry, mate, Divination isn't the same without you. Trelawney is absolutely dreadful I tell you, but I'd much rather have her than Snape. She needs to find someone else who will die within the next week now that you're gone." Ron took the time to smirk. "I don't know why I waste the time trying to understand that rubbish...and I still can't see anything in those wretched tea leaves. How was Snape's class?"  
  
Harry plopped himself in the chair next to Ron's. "Horrid. It's me, Hermione, Dean, Justin Finch-Fletchley and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff and Michael Corner and Anthony Goldstein from Ravenclaw. You might remember them from Dumbledore's Army last year?" Ron nodded. "The rest are Slytherins. Every one of them made it into the N.E.W.T. Potions course."  
  
"All because Snape favors them," Ron said, his face contorting. "I'm so glad I don't have that foul man as a teacher this year."  
  
Ron and Harry waited for an outburst from Hermione, but it never came. They looked over at her and saw a hunched-over form. She had her homework spread out over a whole table in a corner. Her quill moved feverishly.  
  
"Hermione? It's after classes on Friday night. You're not supposed to start homework until at least Saturday," Ron told her.  
  
"I'm aware of this, Ron, but I have to get ahead of the game. These N.E.W.T. courses aren't meant to be taken lightly, and I would prefer not to fall behind."  
  
"Hermione, isn't it rather hard to fall behind when we've only had our first week of classes?" Harry asked gently, knowing fully well that she would never let up.  
  
"No, it's not. If you'd excuse me, I've got a lot of studying yet to do. Good bye." With that, she turned back to her open Arithmancy book and continued with her complex work.  
  
"She's mad, she is," Ron whispered to Harry. "What do you say we take a little stroll along the Hogwarts corridors?" Harry nodded and they quietly left Hermione to her studies.  
  
* * *  
  
"How long until supper?" Ron asked once they exited the common room.  
  
Harry glanced at his watch. "An hour. What do you want to do?"  
  
"I was hoping you'd have an idea."  
  
"Um...we could go visit Tonks," Harry suggested.  
  
"Sounds better than any of my ideas. Let's go."  
  
"D'you think Hermione will actually remember to eat?" Harry asked, concerned. He knew how huffy his friend could get when it came to grades.  
  
"We'll go up and remind her before we take off for supper."  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
* * *  
  
The boys traveled along the familiar hallways of Hogwarts talking about nothing in particular. Quidditch, school, next summer, and after they graduated were only a few of the favorite topics.  
  
"So, Ron, what are you going to do with your life after leaving Hogwarts?" Harry asked his best friend. They had never talked about this before, probably because it seemed as if the school years would never end.  
  
"No idea," Ron muttered. "I've thought about things that I know aren't possible like becoming a professional Quidditch player and an Auror."  
  
"Those aren't completely out of your reach."  
  
"Are you kidding?! Have you seen just how much it costs to go to further your training to become an Auror? There is absolutely no way my family would be able to afford it."  
  
"I could pay your way."  
  
"You know Mum wouldn't allow it. Besides, you're the one who's good at the Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff, not me."  
  
"You're not too bad yourself," Harry replied, fully knowing that one of Ron's best subjects was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Plus, Ron had been one of the first to produce a corporeal Patronus the last year in the D.A. meetings.  
  
"Still, they'd be comparing me to you and I'm nothing compared to you in that kind of stuff."  
  
"I'd be done with my extra training already."  
  
"I don't know...I guess they'd see I'm the same age as you and judge based on that."  
  
Silence fell upon the two friends as they rounded a bend to get to Tonks' classroom. Cho Chang and her clan were walking in the opposite direction, talking and giggling loudly. Harry's heart and stomach leapt upon the sight of her, but she continued on, laughing joyously, and ignoring Harry completely.  
  
* * *  
  
Tonks answered the door the moment they knocked. Her face broke into a huge smile upon seeing them both. "Come in, come in! I was starting to think you two had forgotten about me up here."  
  
"We couldn't forget you, Tonks," Harry said.  
  
"It would be hard for anyone to forget," Ron added under his breath.  
  
"Well, that's good to know," she replied, a smile spread across her face. "So, what can I do for you boys?"  
  
Harry took the time to look around the room. He had been in here under every one of the previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors and none of them had come remotely to looking like it did now. Tonks had plastered posters of rock bands and singers all around the room and she had put up curtains of a bright shade of purple around the windows. She caught Harry looking at them. "Purple has always been one of my favorite colors. That shade just seems to keep the creative juices flowing." She broke out into a smile. "So, what brings you boys to this nick of the school?"  
  
"We needed something to do; preferably something not homework or school related," Harry explained.  
  
"Hermione is the one for that stuff," Ron added.  
  
"I see," Tonks said, plopping herself down in a fuzzy bright purple armchair behind her desk. She magically produced a bowl full of chocolates. "Chocolate Frog?" she asked, offering the bowl to each of the boys in turn. "It's OK to spoil your meal once in a while," Tonks added as Harry hesitantly took one.  
  
Chewing thoughtfully, Harry took another look around the office and realized that there weren't any Dark Detectors littering the desk nor floor. "Hey Tonks, why don't you have any Sneakoscopes or other Detectors in here? Don't Aurors use them? Professor Moody sure had quite a few of them."  
  
"Moody's paranoid. He thinks everyone is after him. I prefer my own instinct to those stupid useless toys any day." She helped herself to a Frog and looked at the card, her smile fading. "Dumbledore. He won't fully recover for over a month, maybe more. He isn't as young as he used to be, and took that attack hard. McGonagall is already feeling the pressures, anyone can tell. She isn't exactly a young whippersnapper either."  
  
An awkward silence fell over the three until they switched the subject to Quidditch. Tonks appeared to be quite knowledgeable in the sport, as she talked passionately about it for quite some time. A half an hour later, Harry and Ron excused them from Tonks' office and went to fetch Hermione for supper.  
  
* * *  
  
Hermione's papers had spread over three more tables since Ron and Harry had left for a walk. They found their friend hiding behind a rather large stack of books, still feverishly working on her Arithmancy work.  
  
"Hermione?" Harry tentatively asked, "It's time for supper."  
  
She didn't answer right away. "Just a few more minutes," she mumbled, her quill never ceasing to write. Ron gave Harry a look.  
  
"You'd better come down for supper now, Hermione," Harry said. "You still have a whole weekend to complete your work."  
  
"Five more minutes."  
  
"Accio quill," Harry said lazily as his friend's quill came straight into his outstretched hand.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"It's for your own good, Hermione," Harry replied, pocketing her writing utensil. "It's only the first week. Besides, you have to eat."  
  
"Fine," she sighed, standing up from her table and following the two boys downstairs mumbling, "I never should have taught him that spell..."  
  
* * *  
  
Harry and Ron were rather glad to escape to the Quidditch field for practice after supper. Hermoine had been driving them mad with inquisitions whether or not they themselves had finished their homework.  
  
"She's just stressing herself out more than she needs to," Ron told Harry irritably. "I don't intend on finishing my homework on Friday nights every week of this year."  
  
When they reached the field, all the other team members were already there. Katie was giving Ginny tips on improving her game, Seamus and Dean were chasing each other around and around the field, and Zachary Lyons was showing off for his fan club, as they were there as well. He flew as fast as he could, dove, did flips, and anything else that impressed the spectators.  
  
"Show off," Ron mumbled under his breath.  
  
"OK, everyone here?" Harry called out. "Great, then let's get started. Let's start with five easy laps around the field and then we'll go from there. Stick together as a team so we learn each other's flying style." The whole team moved to one side of the Quidditch field, Harry leading the way. He started off at a steady but still fast pace around the field. Immediately, Zachary flew past him. Harry figured it was just first practice jitters, but then his fellow teammate kept on going until he had passed them four more times. He flew to the middle of the field when he was finished and did another dive, to his fan club's enjoyment. When the rest of the team finished, Ron was in an uproar.  
  
"What do you think you're doing, Lyons?" he yelled. "Didn't you hear Harry, your captain tell us to stay together as a group?"  
  
"I'm already warmed up," Lyons replied arrogantly.  
  
"Zachary, I know you've already been flying around for quite some time, but I would appreciate it if you stuck to the team's practice schedule."  
  
"Well, maybe I don't want to stick to the team's schedule."  
  
"There aren't any five-year-olds on this team, and I'd welcome a better attitude and you growing up."  
  
"Just because you're famous Harry Potter doesn't mean you get to boss me around."  
  
That tone sounded all too familiar to Harry. "You haven't by any chance, been hanging around Draco Malfoy, have you Zachary?"  
  
"What do you care?"  
  
"I just want to know."  
  
"Well, that's none of your business, now is it?" This made Seamus angry.  
  
"You'll listen to what Harry has to say, and you'll follow his instructions," he said, flexing his muscles. Seamus had bulked up over the summer, and Harry didn't notice that until now. "Otherwise you're off the team. Is this clear?"  
  
"Yes," Lyons said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Good. Harry, please continue."  
  
* * *  
  
The rest of the practice went by without much of a problem. Lyons still hogged the Quaffle and refused to help his teammates, but he behaved much better after Seamus' threats. Harry reminded himself to personally thank his roommate when they returned to the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Harry rounded up the Quidditch balls into their crate with great difficulty before he could walk up to the castle again. Panting, he picked up the wooden box to bring it back to Madam Hooch's office. Something caught his attention as he bent down to carry the crate. Instead of walking towards the castle, Zachary Lyons was walking towards the Forbidden Forest. Before he walked into it, he looked around, and not seeing Harry, he walked into the trees.  
  
Curious, Harry started walking towards where Lyons had disappeared. His foot in midair to step into the forest, Harry realized he was better off minding his own business. If he ever saw Lyons going into the Forbidden Forest again, he'd tell McGonagall. Harry picked up the crate easily, and with one last look towards the spot where Lyons disappeared, he walked towards the castle. 


	8. Training With Tonks

Chapter 8  
Training With Tonks  
  
The rest of the weekend passed by quickly for Harry. Practices were going well for the Gryffindor team, and Harry had a feeling that the Cup was in the bag for them this year, but paranoia still set in on Sunday night, as did with every House Quidditch captain.  
  
"Stop, everyone, stop," he said when everything started to go badly on Sunday evening. Seamus and Dean had accidentally let the Bludgers hit Ginny and Katie more than once so that they became disoriented and threw towards the wrong goalposts, Zachary still wasn't fully participating with the team, and Ron's panic from the year before was starting to set in again and he kept on missing the easy saves. No one stopped when Harry said so. "I SAID STOP!" he yelled so that everyone within a mile radius could hear him. Everybody halted in midair at once. "Now that I finally have all of your attention, could we please regroup? The match is in less than ten weeks and it is not a time to fool around."  
  
"Oh, come on, mate," Ron said cheerily. "We have ten weeks and Ravenclaw is bound to be a pushover this year. They have quite a few rookies on their team."  
  
"As do we. Listen, Ron, you shouldn't think of this stuff lightly. If we slack off now, we'll slack off nine weeks from now. We have to get started."  
  
Ron came up to put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, mate, I'm concerned about you. Listen, it's just a game. This isn't a life or death situation, just something that we do for fun. We'll do fine. Really."  
  
* * *  
  
Quidditch was now the main focus of Harry's mind. He wouldn't—or couldn't think of anything else. As much as he tried to concentrate on school and his studies, he always found himself studying a Quidditch field instead. Harry had become a mirror image of Oliver Wood when he had been captain of the Gryffindor house team. Hermione and Ron started to get worried when he sat in a corner, prodding miniature players with his wand around a tiny exact replica of the Hogwarts field.  
  
"What should we do about him?" Ron asked Hermione.  
  
"That he has to concentrate on something else or else his Aurorship will go down the drain," she replied while they heard Harry muttering under his breath, "That won't do at all...the Beaters have to protect the Chasers...but how will they do that if they're on the opposite end of the field?"  
  
Hermione strode towards her friend. "Harry, can we talk?"  
  
"In a minute, Hermione. No, I should be the one on the opposite end of the field...then I could win the game...unless they score on us more than that..."  
  
"Harry, this has to stop."  
  
"Ron can guard the goals, though. He's done it before...plus he's Keeper..."  
  
This made Hermione angry. She picked up the mini field, opened the window, and held it out the window threateningly. "Harry, listen to me."  
  
"No, Hermoine, don't drop it!"  
  
"Then listen to what I have to say. Even if you don't want to admit it, the fate of the whole Wizarding world rests in your hands. You have to become an Auror in order to vanquish Voldemort. There are some spells that only Aurors know, and I bet you there will be more than one in use when you and Voldemort go all out in your final battle. You're spending way too much time on this rubbish," she gestured to the field and its players, "and not enough time on your studies. You have to achieve the 'Exceeds Expectations' rating in every one of your classes in order to continue with your training. Now promise me your studies will come first before Quidditch."  
  
"But Hermione--"  
  
"Or else this field drops to its doom."  
  
Harry sighed as if in concentration. "All right, I'll put school first."  
  
"Good," she said, handing the field back to him. He was about to start prodding the players again until Hermione gave him a threatening look.  
  
"I'm glad I'm not in your shoes, mate," Ron muttered in his ear as Hermione walked up to the girls' dormitories. "Hermione sure can get ugly when it comes to school."  
  
* * *  
  
Snape's class steadily grew worse. Like before, he allowed the Slytherins to do whatever they liked, but if others put a toe out of line they found themselves in detention the next night. Harry felt the potion master's ever-watching eye constantly on him. He thought he'd snap one day when Snape was prowling the classroom and stopped at Harry's cauldron. "Too watery, Potter. Did you add the unicorn horn yet?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"You should have. Before the powdered root of asphodel. Half credit yet again, Potter. I say if this keeps up, you may never get to become an Auror after all." Snape was no longer whispering in Harry's ear. "You won't receive the glory of making the front page of the Daily Prophet. I dare say they're getting tired of hearing how you defeated the Dark Lord. The famous Potter who--"  
  
"Stop picking on him, professor!" Justin Finch-Fletchley yelled, cracking. "Harry's the only one who will defeat V—Vol—Voldemort." Justin still hadn't mastered uttering the Dark Lord's name just yet. "You're supposed to be supporting him on his way to an Aurorship, not putting him down!"  
  
"Fifty points from Hufflepuff, Finch-Fletchley. Stay after class to organize a detention."  
  
* * *  
  
That evil, foul, slimy..." Harry continued, expecting someone to stop him. Not even Hermione stepped up to stop the name-calling. "By the way, thanks, Justin. That certainly took guts to stand up to him like that."  
  
"I can't believe that he said all that stuff to you, Harry," Justin said, still seething. "He knows that the prophecy said no one else could defeat Vo-Voldemort but you."  
  
"Fifty points was a bit extensive, though, don't you think?" Hermione asked. "I mean, the highest he's taken away from Gryffindor for outbursts was only twenty. Do you think something's going on with him?"  
  
"No one knows," Hannah Abbott said. "It has to be something from his past, though. I don't think he's been this foul all his life." Harry gave an awkward twitch but didn't say anything. The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors parted, everyone contemplating what had happened to Snape but Harry.  
  
* * *  
  
Ron exploded with rage when they told him about what Snape had done. "What does that slimeball think he's doing?!" Ron's face turned such a bright red with rage that it blended with his hair perfectly. "Justin's never been in trouble with him before and he takes fifty points from Hufflepuff? Who does he think he is?!"  
  
Harry had calmed a bit since the incident. After thinking it over, he realized why Snape was worse today than any other day.  
  
"Harry, mate, why so quiet?"  
  
Harry hadn't heard his best friend. Instead he started muttering under his breath. "It's his mum...yes, the anniversary...it's either today or close to this time...that's the only thing that he seemed to really care about...I should have known...I should have stopped Justin before he exploded today..."  
  
"Harry?" Hermione asked gently. "What are you talking about?"  
  
Harry looked up in alarm. He couldn't tell them. No matter what, he couldn't tell them what he had seen in the candle this summer. "I can't tell you."  
  
"What do you know about Snape, Harry?" Ron was intrigued.  
  
"Listen, I can't tell you—neither of you. There's just something about Snape that you don't know about. I didn't before this summer. I can't tell you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Listen, it would explain everything, but he wants to keep it secret. He doesn't even know that I know about it."  
  
"What is it?" Ron's curiosity had gotten the hold of him.  
  
"Haven't you been listening to me? I can't tell you. I'm going upstairs." Without another word, Harry walked up to his dormitory and lay down on his bed. He had let it slip. Now both Ron and Hermione knew that he knew something about the Potions master. They wouldn't relent until he told them. Harry drew the curtains around him shut.  
  
Ten minutes later, Ron walked into the dormitory. "Harry? It's almost suppertime and I thought...well, I thought you'd be hungry." Harry pretended to be asleep. "Well, we're going down there, Hermione and I. You're welcome to join us."  
  
Only when the door closed again did Harry sit up in his four-poster. He knew that he had to tell someone about Snape's secret. Dumbledore would have been his first choice, but he was still in St. Mungo's. Without Dumbledore he couldn't reach Sirius. Harry thought and thought of who he could go talk to until it finally hit him: Tonks.  
  
* * *  
  
When the common room emptied, Harry walked downstairs and out of the portrait hole. He had to go to his Auror training with her anyway, so why not get there early to talk to her? Harry navigated the familiar corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. He walked into the room and straight to Tonks' office. She had left the door ajar and Harry guessed had gone down to supper. He walked in and made himself at home. Glancing around at Tonks' posters of the Weird Sisters and other commonly known rock bands in the Wizarding world, Harry lost track of time and his surroundings.  
  
"Potter!" a growing voice exclaimed, flustered. "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be in this office!"  
  
Harry turned around to find himself face to face with Argus Filch, the Hogwarts caretaker. "I—uh—have questions on the homework Tonks gave us, Mr. Filch. I—I didn't realize you were here."  
  
"So I can tell," Filch growled menacingly, Mrs. Norris, his cat at his heels. "I'll just come back...later." He then started muttering something to Mrs. Norris that Harry could barely make out. "We'll search for clues later, my sweet."  
  
* * *  
  
Three minutes later, Tonks came bouncing up to her office her hair halfway down her back and a beautiful (and normal) auburn color. "Harry! How wonderful to see you. A bit early for training, are we?"  
  
"Yes, I just wanted to tell you something. Well, now it's actually two things. First off, Mr. Filch was up here a few minutes ago. He said he'd come back later and I heard him muttering something under his breath about searching for clues."  
  
"Was he now?" Tonks asked, plopping down in her purple chair. "Please sit down, Harry. You'll find it easier to talk."  
  
"Do you mind me asking, what was Mr. Filch looking for?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure, but it probably wasn't anything of importance. Now, what was this second thing you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
"Do you promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you? I'm not supposed to know, but I have to tell someone."  
  
"Promise."  
  
Harry took in a deep breath. "It's about Professor Snape."  
  
Tonks leaned back in her chair, the smile fading off of her face. "You know then? About his mother?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor took in a deep breath and ran her hand through her hair. "I suppose I had better tell you everything. I knew you would have to know sometime, but I didn't expect it this soon...  
  
"Lydia Snape was one of the best Aurors in the history of the Wizarding world. She is second only to Moody with the count of Death Eaters she put into Azkaban. She had a good heart, but failed in judging other people, specifically her husband.  
  
"Lucas Snape appeared to many as a decent law-abiding citizen. Only those close to him knew he was associated with Voldemort. He inherited a fortune from his family and once was one of the most handsome young men anyone could set their eyes on. He was at the top of his class in many subjects. Slytherin house had a great pride in his skills on the Quidditch field. He was clever, smart, athletic, and handsome. What else could they ask for?  
  
"Lydia was placed in Ravenclaw when she came to school, her intellect only second to Lucas' in their class. Heated rivalries often came between them. No one would have ever guessed the two would end up married. With Lucas in Slytherin, many accurately predicted his fate. Almost the whole school knew he would end up as one of Voldemort's closest followers. Lydia never believed school gossip, so she convinced herself that he would not give in to the Dark Lord.  
  
"Eventually, Lucas attracted Lydia, and vice versa. They became a happily married couple, even though Lucas fully knew that Lydia was one of the best Aurors in the world. She was his last hope to ever steer clear of the evilness of Lord Voldemort, but she failed. Lydia did not know that her own husband was one of Voldemort's closest Death Eaters. Love betrayed her. She had convinced herself that he was a good man at heart. She could not see past what her heart yearned for.  
  
"Frequently, Lucas left for days at a time without a valid reason. According to Dumbledore, Lydia thought it was for his work in the Ministry. How wrong she was.  
  
"Soon after that, they had a son, Severus. They both loved him at heart, but Lydia much more than Lucas. Their seemingly perfect marriage started to falter and fights broke out between them. Severus found himself caught in the middle of many of them. He learned to hate his father and put all blame on him. Lucas' absences became more frequent. Severus grew up, his mother at his side. They loved each other dearly. Lydia found more and more excuses for Lucas not being a part of his son's life. When Severus was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts did she it hit her with full force that her husband was closely linked with Lord Voldemort himself."  
  
"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted, "when I saw the scenes through the candle, Lydia was fighting with Lucas and she even mentioned Voldemort. If she knew he was signed up with the Dark Lord, then why didn't she stop her husband?"  
  
"No one really knows. I think it is because she loved Lucas so much that he hindered her vision. Maybe she wanted to keep him safe, or maybe she wanted Severus to have a fatherly figure. Love is and always has been a mystery no one can understand, inside Wizarding community and out. She tried to escape her husband the year after Severus graduated from Hogwarts, but it proved to be unsuccessful. He was too powerful for her and her bond with him proved too strong for her to get away. Sadly, her love determined her fate." Tonks stopped, and wiped a tear from her eye. "Lydia Snape died bravely in order to save her son. As you now know, Voldemort forced Severus Snape to follow him."  
  
"What happened to Lucas?"  
  
"Aurors caught him five years later and put him in Azkaban. He died seven years ago."  
  
Silence fell upon the two until Harry broke it, "I never knew all this stuff about Professor Snape. What day did she die?"  
  
"September 9th."  
  
"So today's the anniversary?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"No wonder Snape was so foul to Justin today, then."  
  
Tonks took a deep breath and paused for a few moments for Harry to consider all she had just told him. "Ready for training?"  
  
"I guess," Harry said. "That stuff was rather deep, though."  
  
"Yes, but you had to know. Professor Snape shouldn't know that you know about his past. He would be rather angry with both you and me. We don't want you out of his N.E.W.T. Potions class. It's required for your Aurorship."  
  
"What are you going to teach me for my training today?" Harry asked, desperately trying to change the subject."  
  
"Forms of invisibility. I dare say you already know one method rather well." She took the time to smile and wink at Harry. "Your dad's old cloak has come in handy on more than one occasion?"  
  
Harry blushed. "Yes."  
  
"Oh, come on, Harry. There's nothing to be ashamed about! I myself got into some trouble while sneaking around the school in the days I was here...but that's a different story. Now, you'll find your cloak will come in handy when it's at hand, but sometimes it won't be there when you need it most. There is one and only one spell for invisibility. It takes quite a bit of concentration for it to work completely, though. The incantation is Invisium. Let's get to work."  
  
* * *  
  
Harry walked back to the Gryffindor tower fulfilled from a successful day of training (and a meal that Tonks had managed to conjure up), but heavy- hearted with everything he had learned about the Snape family. Sighing, he walked through the portrait hole and up to his dormitory. 


	9. Dumbledore Returns

Chapter 9  
Dumbledore Returns  
  
How Harry managed to survive the next weeks without any major punishments or mishaps was a mystery to him. He had thought Snape would have been much stricter on him. There were now three weeks before the first Quidditch match of the season and Harry's head pounded. Excitement flowed through him, but constantly his fear managed to take over. They had been practicing for two and a half hours a day and six days a week ever since the beginning of the term. Harry felt a satisfaction run through him as he watched one of the Chaser practices from the ground. Although Zachary Lyons still seemed a bit out of place, their play was flawless. Ron's confidence had somehow skyrocketed and at times his saves could have even outmatched those of Oliver Wood.  
  
"Great job, you guys," Harry said at the end of practice. "I've never seen a Gryffindor team more prepared than we are now. For the next three weeks, we'll only have practice on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. We don't want to practice too much before the match."  
  
Exhausted but energetic cheers echoed through the empty stadium. "Hit the showers, everyone!" Harry called out. Everyone flocked towards the locker rooms, except for one member, who snuck out of the Quidditch pitch still sweaty and in their scarlet Quidditch robes. Curiosity got hold of Harry and he followed, recognizing Zachary Lyons' tall and lanky form. He headed for the Forbidden Forest again. Harry followed, but at a distance. Zachary turned around before entering the trees, so Harry hid in the shadow of one of the goalposts as Lyons entered the forest.  
  
* * *  
  
Knowing fully well that the Hogwarts staff deemed this forest forbidden for a decent reason, Harry still followed his teammate at a distance. They followed an overgrown trail towards the heart of the forest. Lyons abruptly stopped in his tracks, so Harry did as well, curious at first. He heard the howl of a werewolf that sent shivers down his spine. Ahead of him, Zachary shuddered, but they had apparently reached their destination. Harry stood in the shadows of the trees while Zachary stood in the middle of a clearing. They waited.  
  
* * *  
  
After what seemed like twenty minutes, Harry almost gave up on trying to determine what Lyons was doing. A noise stopped him in his tracks.  
  
"Lyons," a familiar cold, drawling voice said from the other side of the clearing. "So you've decided to come after all."  
  
"Yes, about that..."  
  
"Did you get it?"  
  
"No, not yet. Potter has kept an annoyingly close watch on me."  
  
"We don't have much time," the voice continued as the form of Draco Malfoy stepped out from behind a tree.  
  
"I know that, it's just that I didn't have any chance to..."  
  
"Silence! I don't have time for your pitiful excuses. Listen, Dumbledore will return sooner than you may expect. That injury was only temporary to buy us time to put the Dark Lord's plan into play. Meet back here next week. Same time, same place. You had better have it by then, or else."  
  
Together, Lyons and Malfoy disappeared through the trees.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry's heart pounded in his chest. He had no clue what they had been talking about, but he did know it had a dangerous power in the hands of Voldemort. He waited a few minutes for Lyons and Malfoy to get a head start back to the castle before he started heading in the same direction. He had to tell someone about what he had overheard. Ideally that someone would be Dumbledore, who still was not available at the moment. Tonks would want to know, but Harry thought he had better go to McGonagall first.  
  
The castle loomed in the darkness. Harry's mind was racing. He had to tell her about what he had overheard, and quickly. His steps quickened as he neared the steps up to the castle. Still in his Quidditch robes, now dirty and torn, he raced around to find the temporary headmistress. Where could she be? he asked himself.  
  
Frantically, Harry searched the castle. He had to find some authority figure who would believe him. He heard footsteps around the next corner. It was Snape.  
  
With a look of disgust at Harry's disheveled state, the Potions master stopped the teenager in his tracks. "And why might the high and mighty Potter be doing wandering the halls late at night, still in his Quidditch robes?" he sneered.  
  
"Listen, Professor, I have to see Professor McGonagall, and quickly. It can't wait."  
  
Snape's sneer turned into a nasty grin. "Quickly, you say? Well, I have to say that she is a bit—busy at the moment and I'm afraid she can't come to see her dear little Potter, hero of Gryffindor Quidditch matches..." Snape's sarcasm almost set Harry off, but he resisted.  
  
"Please, sir, I have to talk to her."  
  
"I told you, Potter, she's busy at the moment." Harry hadn't realized that he was almost as tall as Snape until now. Had he grown over the last couple weeks? "You could come back later...unless it's as urgent as, perhaps, a lost Quidditch match?"  
  
Harry heard Professor McGonagall's quick step walking in their direction. Relief washed over him. "Severus, what are you doing? Didn't I appoint you to a watch at this hour?"  
  
Sneering at Harry, Snape walked off in the opposite direction without another word. Harry could now see nothing but McGonagall's stern face. "Potter? What do you want?"  
  
"Professor, I have to talk to you about something that happened...just now in the Forbidden Forest."  
  
"Does this have to deal with Quidditch?" she asked, motioning to his dirty and torn robes.  
  
"Yes, and no. It involves a player."  
  
"You don't have to come to me with those type of incidents anymore, Potter. Professor Dumbledore can deal with those kinds of things."  
  
* * *  
  
Harry was flabbergasted. "He's here? Professor Dumbledore is well again?" he asked with great excitement. Hogwarts would soon return to its normal state.  
  
"Yes, Potter. You may go see him in his office, if you wish. He just changed the password to 'chocolate frog'." Her face still remained firm, even due to the good news.  
  
"Thank you, professor." She nodded and started to leave again. "But Professor? Why are you still grim? Shouldn't Professor Dumbledore's return be a happy event?"  
  
She stopped, and sighed. "This is indeed a happy occasion, Potter, but with him Dumbledore brings tidings of great sadness. Lord Voldemort is gaining a new power, one that we have not foreseen. I am afraid it will take quite a bit more to defeat him than we first thought." Pausing, the professor turned around to look at Harry. "Your task is greater than we had anticipated. You must keep on with your studies, but especially your Auror training sessions. The sooner the Dark Lord is vanquished, the better." With that, she turned and walked slowly away.  
  
More confused than ever, Harry walked on to the headmaster's office. The gargoyle sprang away at Harry exclaiming, "Chocolate frog!" Harry stepped onto the moving spiral staircase, still pondering what McGonagall had told him. The staircase moved faster than his thoughts did, and soon Harry had entered the headmaster's circular office. Professor Dumbledore stood in front of his desk, Fawkes the phoenix on his shoulder. He smiled at his student. "I've been expecting you, Harry."  
  
"Professor Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed. He had many questions in which Dumbledore would have the answer to, but did not know where to start.  
  
"Hello, Harry," the headmaster said wearily. Harry looked into Dumbledore's eyes. They had become full of pain and suffering, lacking their usual sparkle.  
  
"Professor?"  
  
"Yes, Harry?"  
  
"Tell me everything."  
  
The elderly man sighed. "Has Professor McGonagall talked to you yet?"  
  
"Yes, we met in the hall not five minutes ago."  
  
"Then I suppose she has told you Voldemort is in the process of gaining a massive power, bigger than we had all anticipated?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm afraid that's about all I can tell you, as it is all we have learned lately in the Order of the Phoenix." Dumbledore walked to sit in the chair in front of his desk, Fawkes still on his shoulder. "We are working on details for this theory of a new power. For now it idles, perhaps leading us to yet another dead end. My proposition is that this power is a weapon of some sort."  
  
"Sir? What happened the night you were attacked?"  
  
The old man took in an even larger sigh than the one before. "You know much already. As you have heard, I was checking up on the situation of the Auror shortage in the Ministry of Magic. Voldemort has spies everywhere, evidently even in the Ministry. I did not have a chance to see my attacker, as the spell led to unconsciousness for quite some time. I woke up two weeks later in St. Mungo's. That night I had learned of Voldemort's increasing power. The attacker probably knew I had learned about this, and wanted to clear my memory of all my knowledge. An unsuccessful task, I might add.  
  
"When I woke up, I remembered learning of this unseen power Voldemort has gained. Immediately, I alerted the Order of the Phoenix who came directly to my aid. I told them of my knowledge and they set to work to pick up more clues. None have emerged thus far."  
  
An awkward silence set itself upon the office. In the quiet, Harry could hear previous headmasters and headmistresses snoring in their frames around the office.  
  
Harry then remembered what he had seen in the forest and realized his Quidditch robes still ripped and dirty draped over his shoulders. "As you know, Professor, I'm the Quidditch Captain of the Gryffindor team."  
  
Dumbledore smiled weakly. "So Minerva has told me."  
  
"Well, I filled the vacated positions from last year with Ginny Weasley, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and a third year student named Zachary Lyons. The team started to fit together with the new players, but Zachary refused to get along with anyone. He has kept to himself most of the time and is always sulking. After today's practice, I saw him walking into the Forbidden Forest and followed him, since it's my responsibility to keep the players safe."  
  
Dumbledore nodded, his smile fading even more. "I understand how you would want to protect him. Please continue."  
  
"Zachary reached a clearing and stopped, looking as if he were waiting for something or someone. I stopped behind a tree. Sure enough, Draco Malfoy stepped out from the other side of the clearing. He asked if Zachary had brought with him something. I don't know what the thing was, as Malfoy referred to the object as 'it'. He then said something about your injury and that the attack on you was in order to buy them time. My instincts tell me it has something to do with Voldemort."  
  
Dumbledore sank into his chair, closing his eyes. The old man's face seemed to have aged many years over the time since the Death Eaters attacked him. "We're running out of time, Harry," he said, his voice wispy. Dumbledore was exhausted, Harry could tell. The headmaster opened his eyes. "Harry, how are your training sessions coming along?"  
  
"Fairly well. Sir, may I ask what is 'it'?"  
  
"As far as I can tell it has to do with a weapon of great magnitude. I'm not sure exactly, but we're going to have to alert the Order about this. I will do so in the morning. For now, Harry, keep up with your schoolwork, training, and Quidditch. During practices and games, however, keep a close watch over Zachary Lyons. His family is and always has been vulnerable to the corruption and power of Lord Voldemort. I will summon you if anything unexpected comes up."  
  
"Thank you, sir."  
  
"You're welcome, Harry." 


	10. Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw

Chapter 10  
Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw  
  
The environment of Hogwarts changed immensely once Dumbledore had returned. Everyone became joyous once again and forgot about everything that had to do with Voldemort. They forgot about their fear, alarm, and fright. Everyone except for Harry.  
  
His Aurorship loomed over him like a lead weight that seemed to grow heavier and heavier by the day. Soon it was November and Harry was not getting anywhere with his training sessions, or so he thought. Tonks always encouraged him and said that for a first timer he was getting along well with the spells she taught him. Somehow, Harry thought that untrue.  
  
* * *  
  
The morning of the 11th soon was upon Harry. His nervousness for the match had subsided, at least for a little bit. Ron was already up as his bunk remained empty. Grunting, Harry managed to drag himself out of bed. He yawned luxuriously and stood up, stretching. Sleepily, Harry changed into his clothes and walked down the stairs to the common room where a small group had gathered. They clapped and cheered as he walked through the common room. "You can do it, Harry!" Lavendar Brown and Parvati Patil told him happily as he exited through the portrait hole and down to breakfast.  
  
* * *  
  
Excitement filled the air at the Gryffindor table as well as the common room. Harry found Ron and Hermione to sit down to eat. Soon enough, the familiar fluttering of flying owls filled the air. Harry looked up to see an eagle owl headed straight towards him with a Daily Prophet newspaper attached to his leg. A great horned owl came for Hermione with a newspaper as well. Harry counted out three Knuts and placed them inside the leather pouch attached to the owl's leg. Hermione did the same and the owls took off. Not bothering to read the headlines, Harry poured himself some juice and took two pieces of toast off of the plate in the center of the table.  
  
"Oh no! Harry, look at this!" Hermione exclaimed, seizing his Daily Prophet and pointing to the main story: Puddlemere United Reserve Keeper Critical In St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. She read off of her copy, "Reserve Keeper Oliver Wood for the Puddlemere United Quidditch team was attacked Friday evening by an unknown supporter of You- Know-Who preceding a team practice. He will be kept under tight security in the Critical Care Center of St. Mungo's until further notice. Aurors are on the scene. See pages three through five for further information."  
  
"Wood?" Ron exclaimed. "Why would they go after a Quidditch team?"  
  
"Haven't you noticed Voldemort's supporters' sporadic attacks?" Hermione asked. "He no longer cares who they are attacking, or why. His attacks are getting more frequent and more reckless. The thing is that we can't afford any more attacks. There is an Auror shortage as it is. Lord Voldemort's supporters don't care if they get caught anymore, as they will just escape from Azkaban all over again. The dementors are now under Voldemort's control." The trio fell into an awkward pause. "What do you say, Harry?" Hermione asked him.  
  
The teenage wizard took a deep breath. "I say I'm going to go play the best Quidditch I have in my entire life and then ask Dumbledore if I can go visit Wood. I haven't seen him in a while and I want to tell him that I have been named Quidditch Captain this year."  
  
* * *  
  
"Captains, shake hands," Madam Hooch told Harry and Cho at the beginning of the match. Awkwardly, Harry walked up to Cho. Her sleek black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it nearly reached her waist. She smiled at him as their hands met and wished him good luck. He could merely grunt in reply. "Take your positions!" Madam Hooch yelled to the rest of the teams as Harry and Cho mounted their broomsticks and flew above their respective team. The whistle blew and they were off. As Lee Jordan had graduated from Hogwarts the year before, Harry wasn't sure who would be commentator. He flew around leisurely as he listened for a voice to fill the stadium.  
  
Sure enough, a mouse-like voice took over the entire field. "Harry Potter's Gryffindor team of Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Katie Bell, Zachary Lyons, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Harry Potter himself have taken the lead! Harry, I hope you know I'm your biggest fan!"  
  
Harry slapped himself on the face. It was Colin Creevey. Sure enough, flashes were directed at Harry. "CREEVEY! Put away that camera and pay attention to the match! These spectators want to know what's happening!"  
  
"Sorry, Professor, ma'am. I'll just give the camera to Dennis, then..."  
  
Groaning, Harry shot for the opposite end of the field to avoid the constant flashes of the Creevey brothers' camera. He could hear the Slytherins jeering at him. He started to pay closer attention to the game. They were already ahead 20-10, but Harry could tell that Lyons was causing difficulty for his Chasers, so he flew down to sort things out while the game still continued. "You guys still remember the Three Chaser Weave?" he called out.  
  
"Yes," Ginny called back.  
  
"We've tried that, Harry, but it only works with three Chasers, though, Harry, not two."  
  
"Zachary, you remember the Three Chaser Weave?" Harry dodged a Bludger.  
  
"Watch it, Harry!" Seamus called out as he chased after it.  
  
"Well, Zachary? Do you remember it?" He was trying to keep an eye on everything at once and it wasn't working. "Timeout!" he yelled out and motioned to Madam Hooch who blew her whistle and everyone flew to the sidelines. "Zachary, please answer my question."  
  
"Yeah, Lyons. Answer Harry's question," Ron said, coming to his best friend's aid. Still, Zachary said nothing.  
  
"Zachary, if you don't cooperate with the team, or me, you're out," Harry said as patiently as he could. "You saw how many people went out for the Chaser positions. It won't be hard to replace you. So now do you remember the Three Chaser Weave or not?"  
  
"Yes," Lyons muttered.  
  
"Good. Now, Katie, Ginny, and Zachary use the Weave for most of your offensive plays from now on. It has been our most damaging play in practice, and I just know you'll be able to use it to our advantage out here on the field. We're tied up now, so I'll catch the Snitch as soon as I see it, OK? If I have a chance, I will keep an eye on the rest of the game and if I see possible improvement I'll take another timeout. Now let's get out there and win this match!"  
  
* * *  
  
Ravenclaw kept right on Gryffindor's tail when it came to scoring. Harry had to admit, Cho had done a great job polishing her rookies to be conditioned and ready. He circled the stadium like a vulture trying to spot the Snitch. Cho had not been right on his tail, something that surprised Harry. By Ron's standards, her broom was still "ancient". He hadn't spotted the Snitch yet, so he flew over to Ron's goalposts where his redheaded friend was keeping watch.  
  
"How's it going, Ron?" Harry called out.  
  
"Pretty well. I'm glad I got rid of those playing jitters from last year," he said as he made yet another spectacular save. "Makes things easier, doesn't it?" Effortlessly, Ron threw the Quaffle half way down the field to Ginny.  
  
"Yes, that it does. Keep up the good work, Ron."  
  
Ten minutes later, there still wasn't any sign of the Snitch. Cho apparently hadn't seen it either, as she flew around goalposts and the stands aimlessly. He tried his best to ignore the commentary, something he hadn't listened to since early on in the game. The Slytherins still jeered at him, and had started imitating Colin every time Harry passed by on his broomstick. Harry tried his best to fly faster every time he grew closer to the Slytherin stands, but sarcastic comments like "Potter, I'm your biggest fan" followed him no matter what his speed.  
  
Harry looked down upon his team, where he was pleased to see that Lyons had finally started to behave with the team as a whole and the rest of the team appeared to be flawless.  
  
A glint of gold caught Harry's eye. He followed it to the ground and as it zigzagged throughout the game. Cho was hot on his tail. The Snitch was just within his reach, if only he could extend his arm a bit longer... Soon, he had lost it again and continued with his search high above the other players.  
  
* * *  
  
Cho was diving. Panicked, Harry hastily urged his broomstick on. "Come on, faster!" he encouraged, begging and pleading with it. She would get to it first; he was on the opposite side of the field...she would get to it first... At that moment, a familiar glint of gold caught Harry's eye from his right. He stopped and turned around. Sure enough, Cho had stopped diving and headed straight for the real Snitch. She had been trying to divert Harry's attention in order to catch the Snitch for herself. Harry then saw that she had the advantage; she had less distance to travel. What are you talking about? Harry then asked himself. You're the one with the Firebolt, remember? He shot straight for it as fast as he could. It darted out of sight, but Harry could still see it. Cho, however, did not see where it had gone. Hesitantly, she followed Harry, who dove. The Snitch was on the ground, and Harry could taste the glory of another win.  
  
"Come on, Harry! You can beat her!" Colin yelled madly into the megaphone, forgetting his neutral position as commentator. The entire crowd got to its feet. Although Cho had the older broom, her flying ability made up for it. She was neck and neck with him as the Snitch grew nearer. Harry knew he would have to either pull up from the dive quickly to lose her from his tail or simply bat her hand away. He could just hear Oliver Wood saying, "Harry, this isn't the time to be a gentleman!" With a final burst of speed, Harry closed in on the tiny golden ball with fluttering wings. He grappled it and toppled off of his broomstick. Cho rammed right into him on the ground. Harry sat up and held the Snitch high. The crowd roared. Gryffindor had won. 


	11. An Aurorism in Question

Chapter 11  
An Aurorism in Question  
  
"Tonks, I can't do this," Harry said one Monday evening during a training session. "It's just too much: the N.E.W.T. classes, the training, Quidditch... This sounds more like the kind of schedule Hermione would have than me. I just can't keep my grades and my Quidditch performance up anymore."  
  
Tonks looked up at Harry and searched his eyes. "You can't, or you won't?" she questioned.  
  
"I can't."  
  
"You're lying."  
  
"No, I'm not. This is just too much."  
  
Sighing, she put her head in her hands, as if searching for answers to his testimony. "Harry, you are the one destined to vanquish Voldemort. Dark times will overcome the world if you fail."  
  
"I know that, but it's just too much!"  
  
"I am aware of your hectic schedule, Harry. You have a dilemma before you. You love Quidditch, and the Gryffindor team would be at a loss without your experience, leadership, and skill, but yet, the fate of the world as we know it rests in your hands. As much as I hate to have to put this kind of a burden on you, the prophecy proved that the only witch or wizard who had the potential to murder the Dark Lord is you."  
  
"Enough of that stupid prophecy!" Harry yelled. The dam holding back his anger, malice, and temper broke and he let it all out. "I've heard enough of it! I don't have the chance to lead the life of a normal teenager! It all started with the scar and everyone gaping at my forehead, wondering if it was really me right in front of them and now—now it's the prophecy that I must fulfill! No pressures, eh, Harry? No extra work or burden? Your life will either end as the result of a murder or you will commit one within your lifetime. Do you think that lightens my load?!" He took the time to pause and laugh, almost maliciously. "No. The burden will never grow lighter. More will just pile itself onto the top of everything and I have to keep strong. Supposedly I can't break under the pressure and weight of everything. It all started with that stupid prophecy!" His volume started to increase again at the thought of the prophecy. "Trelawney had no idea what she was talking about, that old bat! How dare she ruin my life? How—dare she?" At that, Harry started to sob and fall into the chair. The pressure was just too much for him to handle. Here he was, a teenage boy, crying uncontrollably in front of his professor. After a few minutes, he managed to choke out a few words to Tonks. "You must think I'm even weaker now, huh? Crying and all?" He wiped his nose on the sleeve of his robes. "Look, everyone, Potter's crying! Call the presses!" Harry burst out into a new round of tears of frustration.  
  
"No, Harry, I don't think you're weak. In fact, you're stronger than most people, showing emotions like these." The now purple-haired professor stood up and walked around her desk to comfort the teenager. She put her hand on his shoulder. "Not many people would have gotten this far even without all the other things you have taken up. Harry, I know this training is burdensome. I realize how much people expect from you. But I have seen you succeed, even with the expectations placed upon your shoulders. You're stronger than most people. I have faith that you will complete your training and become an Auror, defeating Voldemort. Keep up your spirits, Harry. It's almost the holiday season and you'll be able to take a break from these training sessions. As a matter of fact, I don't see the need to continue on tonight. Next week will be our last session before the holidays. Keep on practicing and polishing your skills and we'll continue on after the break. Good night, Harry."  
  
"Good night."  
  
* * *  
  
That night the prefects walked around writing down the names of the people who would stay at Hogwarts for the holidays—at least, Hermione and Ron were coming around to collect names. Ron seemed reluctant with this task, as he was with every prefect duty. "Hermione," he whined while following her with her quill and clipboard, "why do we have to do this? No other prefects are writing down names of people staying over break, in this house or in others."  
  
"Are you staying here at Hogwarts over the holidays?" Hermione asked a group of first year girls politely, ignoring Ron's question. Two said yes, so she took their names, thanked them, and turned around to deal with Ron.  
  
"We're doing this to save time for Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore," she replied curtly, shooting Ron a look. "Although I don't see a we involved here." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"Sure, it saves them time, but it takes away from our time! I could be doing something more useful, like practicing for Quidditch or even—studying."  
  
"If you didn't want to spend extra time on these types of things, then why did you become a prefect in the first place?"  
  
"I didn't necessarily want to become a prefect...Dumbledore chose us, remember?"  
  
"You always said you wanted to become one, to match your brothers' skills and abilities. Whatever happened to that proposition?"  
  
"I just wanted the badge! I didn't know it involved this much work!"  
  
Hermione huffed disapprovingly. "Well, then, I'll finish this by myself, thank you very much, and you can get on with your precious 'studying'." With that, she stomped off to ask others about whether or not they were staying at Hogwarts during Christmas.  
  
"Be glad you're not a prefect, mate," Ron told Harry, running a hand through his hair. "It's twice as much work as I had anticipated and Hermione is dreadfully picky about things. Mum was ever so proud when she saw the badge, but now I'm not so sure it's worth the labor!"  
  
* * *  
  
Tonks didn't say anything about Harry's outburst during class or during their next training session. Harry was grateful to her for doing so. He didn't want to remember his weaknesses. After class one day, however, she told him to stay after. "Harry," she said above the noises of twenty people leaving the room at once, "could I please have a word with you?"  
  
Curious, Harry stood up and walked over to the professor. He realized she looked exhausted, as if she hadn't had a wink of sleep in a week. "Yes?"  
  
"Harry, Emmeline Vance is dead."  
  
"That Auror who went missing the week before school started?"  
  
"Yes. We found her body in the middle of a field five miles south of London. She has been dead for over a month."  
  
"Aren't there Aurors patrolling all of Britain, as well as the world?"  
  
"Yes, Harry, but you've heard of the Auror murders. It has become an international burden. Over a fourth of all Aurors in the world have died within the last six months. There are less people to patrol the most unlikely areas for murders or Death Eaters lurking about. No one patrolled that area for over three months."  
  
"So what does this mean for me?"  
  
"Emmeline Vance did not make the news much, but she was one of the best and most elite Aurors in the country. Remember your Advanced Guard who brought you here in the summer after your fourth year?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Those Aurors are the best in the country, and some are amongst the top twenty Aurors in the world."  
  
"Including you?"  
  
"Yes, including me. Dumbledore himself chose the Aurors especially for your case. He was the first to hear the prophecy. He knew what was at stake if you died en route to Grimmauld Place. If you had died, Voldemort would have successfully conquered the Wizarding world. He might have even had the ability to take over parts of the Muggle world."  
  
"So, again, what does this specific Auror murder mean for me?"  
  
"Emmeline Vance was a fully-trained Auror, and like I said before, one of the best. Harry, you must use extreme caution anywhere and everywhere you go. We can't afford to keep guard over you all day every day, so you must watch out, and now especially is when you must keep up with your training. You must become an Auror as soon as possible. Fully completing the training in two years is a stretch, but it would still be nice if you could complete it in less. Work hard, and keep up with your classes, Harry. The fate of the world rests with you." 


	12. Visiting St Mungo's

Chapter 12  
Visiting St. Mungo's  
  
Dumbledore allowed Harry to visit Oliver Wood in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries two weeks after the Gryffindor Quidditch match. "Oliver has to recover his strength before he can afford visitors," the headmaster had told Harry. Katie Bell went to St. Mungo's with Harry.  
  
"How do you think he's doing?" Katie asked Harry as they walked through the hallways of St. Mungo's.  
  
"OK. He's probably been bugging his doctors and nurses to release him so he can play Quidditch again sometime soon. Oliver isn't one to stay put for very long."  
  
They approached a rather short queue and lined up to ask the receptionist where to go. As they approached the front of the line, the receptionist proved to be an older, but still curt witch. She looked rather harassed and irritated, but kept her temper all the same. Soon, Harry and Katie were at the front of the line. "Hello, we're here to see Oliver Wood."  
  
"Ah, yes, Wood's on the fourth floor in the temporary wing. Ward number eighty-five."  
  
"Thank you," both Harry and Katie replied as they walked towards the steps to go up to the fourth floor.  
  
* * *  
  
They entered the temporary wing and immediately heard arguing. "Why can't I leave already?! I'm healthy enough! See? I'm running around the room right now."  
  
"Now, Mr. Wood, you know your Healer told you not to run or do anything strenuous for at least three weeks..."  
  
"Well, who cares what he says? I want to get out of here!"  
  
"Mr. Wood, please don't make me call your Healer."  
  
"Go ahead! Maybe he can get me out of this place!"  
  
A nurse appeared at the door of one of the wards. Her appearance was one of distraught. "Excuse me," Katie said, "is that where Oliver Wood is residing at the moment?"  
  
The nurse turned towards Katie and Harry. "I'm afraid so. Are you relatives?"  
  
"No, we're just friends of his."  
  
"Watch out. He may be injured, but he's still as feisty as ever." She walked towards the end of the corridor where she turned a corner and walked out of sight.  
  
Katie and Harry walked into the room. Wood sat on the first bed, deep in thought. Although the rest of the ward could hold three more people, the other beds were empty.  
  
"Hi, Oliver," Harry said. Looking up to see who was there, Wood's face lit up.  
  
"Harry! Katie! How great it is to see you!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and putting an arm around each of their shoulders. "How's Quidditch at Hogwarts?"  
  
"It's great. We won our first match two weeks ago."  
  
"That's wonderful! Who's captain?"  
  
"I am."  
  
"I knew you had it in you, Harry!" Wood winked at his previous teammate and then sat back down on the bed. "Well, why are you two still standing? Sit down! We have a lot of talk about. So, I suppose Slytherin has played their match already as well?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And the outcome...?"  
  
"Slytherin won by two hundred and fifty points," Harry said, his face falling.  
  
"Too bad. Who did they play?"  
  
"Hufflepuff."  
  
"The captains for both teams?"  
  
"Justin Finch-Fletchley for Hufflepuff and Draco Malfoy for Slytherin."  
  
"So you played Ravenclaw."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Roger Davies is gone now. Who's their captain?"  
  
"Cho Chang."  
  
"She always has been a great Quidditch player. I figured she'd take the helm after Davies left. I suppose they had quite a hole after last year..."  
  
"We're not here only to talk about Quidditch you know," Katie said, interrupting Harry and Oliver's dissection of the Hogwarts Quidditch program. "So Oliver, how are you holding up?"  
  
"Pretty well. I want to get out of here, though."  
  
"So we heard," Harry said, grinning.  
  
"What?"  
  
"We walked into the wing and heard your little fit," Katie added, giggling.  
  
"You heard that?"  
  
"Yup. I don't know who couldn't hear it."  
  
Wood sighed, leaned back on the gigantic stack of pillows behind his head, and stretched his legs out in front of him. "I know that I'm healthy enough to jump on my broomstick and play Quidditch again, but evidently the Healers don't," he said, disgusted.  
  
"Well, you were attacked by one of Voldemort's supporters," Harry said. As of late, he had noticed that the familiar shiver that usually went through the people around him when he uttered the Dark Lord's name had vanished.  
  
"Almost everyone in this hospital here have had some sort of encounter with Voldemort and his supporters," Wood said. "The Aurors have top priority, of course, so when they come in injured about five Healers work with them at once. You guys have heard about the recent attacks, specifically on Aurors?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, it's getting worse. No one is safe anymore. Voldemort's support system just seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I, for one, didn't expect him or any of his supporters to come near a Quidditch pitch; it would be too risky for them getting caught. Well, we all know that changed." Wood sank back farther into his pillows.  
  
"Oliver, did they catch the Death Eaters who attacked you?" Katie asked.  
  
"Yeah, about five of them. They don't care if they Aurors catch them anymore, though. Don't know why, but Voldemort's supporters have gotten more and more reckless."  
  
"The dementors are on his side now," Harry said hollowly.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"The Minister of Magic refused to take the dementors out of Azkaban, even though Dumbledore told him to. Instead, Voldemort bribed them to join his side. Voldemort had more to offer than the Ministry of Magic, so they allied with him and his Death Eaters. The dementors were the only guards to Azkaban, so with them gone the prisoners have been free to come and go as they pleased. It is now almost impossible to keep control over the prison. Cornelius Fudge has led us into a lose-lose situation."  
  
"How do you know all of this, Harry?" Oliver asked, sitting up, intrigued.  
  
"Haven't you heard yet, Oliver?" Katie asked him. "Harry's training to become an Auror."  
  
"Are you really?"  
  
"Well, no one is supposed to know about it, but yes, I'm in training."  
  
"Don't you have to have graduated from school before you begin training?"  
  
"I have a special case."  
  
"And what might that be?"  
  
Harry found himself explaining everything: the prophecy, the training, Tonks, his N.E.W.T. classes, late nights spent studying, everything. Neither Katie nor Oliver talked at all during Harry's spiel. He found it relieving to tell them all about his experiences. A great burden took itself off his mind. Whenever he talked to Ron, Hermione, Dumbledore, or Tonks about his schedule, the prophecy, or his training, he always felt that more weight piled itself onto his shoulders. Talking to people who wouldn't tell him that the fate of the whole world rests in his hands was refreshing.  
  
When he finished, Oliver and Katie sat in awe. "Wow, Harry, I had no idea you had all of this stuff going on," Katie said. "Plus you're Quidditch captain to boot. I'm impressed."  
  
Wood whistled. "Well, Potter, you're busy, but I'm sure you can handle it. You always have been able to do those kinds of remarkable things." Oliver smiled encouragingly and again winked at Harry. 


	13. Holidays at Hogwarts

Chapter 13  
Holidays at Hogwarts  
  
After going to visit Wood, the holiday season crept on Harry and his fellow classmates. He took a trip to Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione on a frosty weekend in December. Christmas cheer flooded the air of the miniscule village. Hermione and Ron still had to buy presents for their families. Harry figured he would go off on his own to find Ron and Hermione's gifts later. For now he was helping them pick out gifts.  
  
"What do you think Mum would like that she doesn't have already?" Ron asked Harry. "And what about Dad? I could get him something Muggle related, but where do I find a non-magic shop in the middle of a magic community?"  
  
"You should have thought of that before now," Hermione said disapprovingly. "I have some Muggle things that I'm sure your dad would like that are in my trunk. I'll show them to you when we get back to the castle. What about my parents, though?"  
  
"How about a self-scrubbing dish sponge?" Ron asked as they passed by a magic trinket store. "Mum has one of those and finds it ever so handy. Especially when Charlie, Bill, Percy, Fred, and George are home."  
  
"That's an interesting idea...as long as they don't use it when company comes over to our house." Hermione ushered them all into the store. "Can you think of the look on visitors' faces upon seeing a sponge cleaning the dishes all by itself with an unseen force moving it along?"  
  
Hermione picked up the sponge and they continued on through the store.  
  
* * *  
  
Two hours later, Hermione had decided on a self-filling flower vase for her mother (she thought a sponge wasn't enough) and a hammer that would hit the nail heads by itself for her father. She said magic greatly intrigued her parents. Ron still hadn't come up with anything for his mother.  
  
"Mum has everything she could want!" he exclaimed, collapsing in a chair in the crowded Three Broomsticks pub. "What am I supposed to buy her for Christmas?" he asked Hermione.  
  
Harry appeared with three butterbeers in hand. "Why don't you buy her some fragrant lotion or some other thing like it? I know girls like that kind of stuff. I saw a shop for it just over there." She pointed out the window to a dainty frilly shop Ron and Harry hadn't noticed.  
  
Ron gave Hermione a disgusted look as she took a sip from her butterbeer. "And how am I supposed to pick out something like that?"  
  
"It's easy. All you do is look at everything in the store until you find something you know the person you're buying for will like..." she paused at another look from Ron. "OK, OK, how about I buy your mother's gift and you two can go do something else for a while. Ron, you can pay me back when I've picked something out." She drained the rest of her butterbeer and stood up to walk out of the store.  
  
"Be sure it doesn't exceed nine Sickles and two Knuts!" Ron called after her retreating form. "I don't have any more than that."  
  
She nodded and walked out of the pub.  
  
* * *  
  
Back at the common room, Hermione showed Ron some of the Muggle things she had found in her trunk: a couple batteries, a CD, and some hairspray ("This is what Muggles use instead of potion on their hair?" Ron asked. "Weird."). Ron chose to give his father the batteries and hairspray.  
  
"Thanks a bunch for that Muggle stuff, Hermione," he said as the three friends assisted Ron with tying his parcels to Pigwidgeon and a couple school owls to fly off to Ron's family.  
  
"It wasn't a problem. I wanted to get rid of that stuff anyway."  
  
"Stay still, Pig," Ron muttered when his owl kept on fidgeting while Ron tied the parcel to the owl's body. "I hate Christmas!" Ron exclaimed as his owl flew high in the air excitedly with a package only half attached to him and it fell to the ground.  
  
* * *  
  
After the next week of classes, the students were off for the holidays. Hermione went home over Christmas along with most of the school. Harry and Ron were the only boys left in their dormitory for the few weeks. Ron explained that his parents would be at Grimmauld Place anyway, and they would be coming and going so it would be pointless to go home over the holidays.  
  
"Grimmauld Place feels more like our home than The Burrow nowadays," Ron told Harry during one of their wizard chess games in an empty Gryffindor common room their first day off. "I don't want to see the state of our house. I'm sure the gnomes have taken over the garden now."  
  
"I'll be living there this summer," Harry told Ron. He hadn't mentioned Sirius' will to anyone until now. He found it too painful.  
  
"Really?" Ron asked in awe as he moved his queen to capture Harry's bishop. "That'd be awesome to have your own place at the age of sixteen..."  
  
"It won't really be my own place," Harry said. "Members of the Order will come and go all the time." Harry's knight captured Ron's queen with great satisfaction.  
  
Ron cursed under his breath. "Should have seen that one coming. I've been teaching you too well. Still, even with the Order there, it'll be your house. You'll have the final say in things."  
  
"Sirius left it to me along with his other possessions in his will." Harry's head sunk. He hadn't seen Sirius since that night he came to Privet Drive to bring Harry to Snape's house.  
  
Ron looked at his best friend with sympathy. "You really miss him, don't you?"  
  
"More than anything."  
  
Ron heaved a great sigh. "Well, he'd sure be proud of what you've already accomplished this year. I mean you've kept up your grades even though you have those Auror training sessions every week and Quidditch...you being Captain and all. He'd be impressed."  
  
Harry looked at his redheaded best friend and smiled. "Thanks, Ron."  
  
"Any time, mate. Now let's get down to supper. I'm starved."  
  
* * *  
  
The House tables had vanished and a large round table stood in the middle of the Great Hall. Dumbledore was already seated and talking in a fast hushed voice to Snape. Dumbledore looked up upon Harry and Ron's entrance and stood up to acknowledge their presence. "Harry, Ron, how good of you to join us. Many students have decided to go home for the holidays, so we'll eat meals at this table instead. I believe we did the same thing a few years back, if you remember. If you'd sit down, I'm sure the rest of the students soon will join us. Harry, next to me, if you will?"  
  
Harry and Ron walked over to Dumbledore where Harry sat on his right side and Ron next to Harry. "Professor?"  
  
"Yes, Harry?"  
  
"Which teachers are staying here over the holidays?"  
  
"Well, there's Severus here, Hagrid, Sybill who won't be joining us for meals, and me."  
  
"What about Tonks and Professor McGonagall?"  
  
"Both called to duty for the Order over the holidays. They will return when school is back in session."  
  
"I read in the Daily Prophet that the Auror situation is getting worse," Harry said.  
  
"It has been steadily worsening over the last six months. I want you to know something. Voldemort may be gaining power and influence with his supporters, but he is still weak. He is not physically prepared for his Final Battle with you just yet. That will still take some time."  
  
"So he's frightened to fight me?"  
  
"Frightened, no. Acting on instinct, yes. Voldemort isn't stupid. He knows he has to gain his strength before dueling with you for the last time."  
  
"So I should attack him now, when he's weak."  
  
"No, Harry. You aren't strong enough to duel with the Darkest wizard of our time yet either. The good news that comes from this is that we have a little bit of time to train you more. I know for certain that the battle will occur next year. It will be a duel of two of the strongest and brightest wizards of this century. For now, though, we have to deal with the losses of many magnificent Aurors."  
  
By then, more students were walking into the Great Hall. The headmaster cut their conversation short, and the meal commenced.  
  
* * *  
  
"Harry! It's Christmas!" Ron shouted excitedly through a mouth full of Chocolate Frogs. "Presents!"  
  
Harry groggily sat up in his four-poster and put on his glasses. Sure enough, there was a small pile of gifts at his feet. He kicked off his blankets and looked at his pile. "What'd you get?" he called over to the general vicinity of Ron's bed. It was strewn with wrapping paper.  
  
"Some sort of rock cakes from Hagrid, Chocolate Frogs from Tonks..." He stuffed another Frog into his mouth. "...Quidditch book from Hermione, homemade cookies and another maroon sweater from Mum, and thanks a lot for this chess set. It must have cost you a fortune!" Ron held up a box with hand crafted chess pieces in it. Harry had found it in Hogsmeade.  
  
"It was nothing and didn't cost all that much," Harry said. His best friend gave him a look. "Really. You deserve it."  
  
Ron's face turned from one of puzzlement to one of gratitude. He ripped the packaging off of the set and looked at it with admiration. "This sure beats my old set," he muttered. Harry laughed and turned to his own packages.  
  
He had received the same as Ron from Hagrid: a rather large box filled with rock cakes, which he avoided. Mrs. Weasley sent a care package with many different kinds of Christmas cookies and one of her classic bulky sweaters. Harry's was navy blue. Tonks had sent a book of famous Aurors. He set the Auror book down carefully and continued with Hermione's gift. She had bought him a book filled with ideas for Quidditch plays. Harry flipped through it to find diagrams and examples of the different kinds of moves for the whole team. He showed it to Ron who was ecstatic. "That's perfect! Even though Hermione does buy us books every Christmas, she sure knows what kinds of books we would like." Ron grabbed the book and started glancing through it muttering, "This is brilliant..."  
  
Dobby the house elf had knitted Harry a crudely made scarf with broomsticks all over it. Ron's gift to Harry was a small Foe Glass. "Thanks, Ron!" Harry called to the other side of the room.  
  
"For what?" Ron's head popped out from behind his curtain.  
  
"The Foe Glass."  
  
Ron looked at Harry, puzzled. Finally, he redeemed himself. "Oh, yeah. No problem. It isn't the most expensive in the world, but I was thinking that when you're an Auror it could come in handy."  
  
"So this is the start to my collection of Dark Detectors like Moody's?"  
  
"I suppose so."  
  
"It's perfect. Thanks again."  
  
Ron didn't say anything. His face just turned a red so bright that it matched his hair.  
  
* * *  
  
Soon the holiday season was over. The rest of the students returned a couple days before classes started back up again. "Have a good break?" Hermione immediately asked jovially as she bounced into the common room coming back from the holidays.  
  
"Yeah, we did," Ron answered.  
  
"Not many students and teachers around, I'm assuming?"  
  
"Nope," Harry responded. "Dumbledore, Hagrid, Snape, and Trelawney were the only faculty members here."  
  
"What about Tonks?"  
  
"She had some work to do with the Order. I think she'd be back by now."  
  
Hermione updated them on her break. She had kept busy with visiting relatives and spending time with her family. "Have you guys finished McGonagall's essay yet?" she asked.  
  
"What essay?" Ron asked while yawning.  
  
"The essay that we were supposed to write over break about the ignorance when it comes to Animagi registration."  
  
"Oh, that essay. Haven't started it yet."  
  
"What do you mean you haven't started it yet?!" Hermione shrieked. "Ron, that essay is supposed to be three rolls of parchment, at least. McGonagall hinted that it is worth a lot of points."  
  
"Calm down, Hermione," Ron said. "Don't worry, I'll get it done before Monday."  
  
"These are N.E.W.T. classes, Ron. They aren't to be taken lightly. Now get to writing that essay."  
  
With that, she stomped up the stairs to her dormitory, Crookshanks at her heels.  
  
"She's just full of holiday cheer, isn't she, mate?" Ron asked miserably as he picked up a roll of parchment and a quill to start writing. 


	14. The Abyss of the Enemy

Chapter 14  
The Abyss of the Enemy  
  
"You are now approximately a quarter of the way done with your N.E.W.T. courses," Professor McGonagall's quick, sharp voice penetrated the classroom as she entered one January morning. She looked around at the exhausted teenage faces in front of her. "I can see, judged by your faces, that you have all felt the strain and rigor of these classes. I remind you that you only have one and a half years left in your Hogwarts education, and it will be a brutal path. Your final exams in the N.E.W.T. courses this year will be a review of what you have learned at a halfway point.  
  
"The actual N.E.W.T. tests will take place three weeks before the end of your last term next year. You will view your scores before you leave this school. The staff at Hogwarts will be the ones who initially receive these scores. We will go over them with you individually, that is, the heads of the Houses, Professor Dumbledore, and you. Each of us will have our say about whether or not you will go directly into the workforce, or if we have to teach you separately, during the summer holidays. Rarely do we have to hold someone back for not achieving an academic goal.  
  
"As each of you have chosen your career paths individually, you have each set your own academic expectations. I, for one, expect all of you to reach beyond your potential, as you have known from the beginning of your career here. I am aware of the tension these courses stimulate in teenagers, but I still expect your enthusiasm and acceptable grades.  
  
"I strongly suggest you all start to glance through the N.E.W.T. workbook. From what I know, Miss Granger is the only one who has gone through it thoroughly. You will find excellent review pages for your halfway point, the exams in June. Hogwarts teachers follow the book strictly when it comes to N.E.W.T. courses, and you will find review for all of your classes in it.  
  
"Now, are there any questions?" To no one's surprise, Hermione's hand immediately shot up. "Yes, Miss Granger?"  
  
"Professor, is there any possibility you may switch careers?"  
  
"If you would like to switch occupations you may, except that if you did not achieve enough N.E.W.T.s, you must take them through the Ministry of Magic. They will either send you a packet for the course through the mail or you could go to the Ministry itself once a week for two years. Any other questions?" A buzz had overcome the classroom. Harry and Ron looked at each other with a mixed look of excitement and horror on their faces. "Then you are dismissed," Professor McGonagall said as the bell rang.  
  
* * *  
  
"To think, we only have a year and a half before we graduate from Hogwarts," Ron said the next morning as the trio walked down to breakfast.  
  
"It seems like only yesterday when Hagrid told me that I was a wizard," Harry replied. They walked towards the Gryffindor table and sat down, diving right into the pancakes and bacon. Harry had just picked up his fork when a familiar flutter of wings greeted his ears. Immediately he looked up for his edition of the Daily Prophet.  
  
Sure enough, a screech owl dropped the Wizarding newspaper right next to him. He glanced at the front cover and hastily put his money in the small leather pouch attached to the owl's leg. "Not another breakout!" he muttered as the scowling pictures of at least a dozen witches and wizards looked up at him with penetrating eyes.  
  
Harry unfolded the paper, his breakfast forgotten. Something caught his eye.  
  
Interrogation of Death Eater Leads to Clues The Auror Department of the Ministry of Magic in London has announced the capture of an undisclosed follower of You-Know-Who ("Death Eater"). After interrogation, Aurors have discovered significant evidence of the You-Know- Who's current location. "This is an excellent achievement," Alastor "Mad- Eye" Moody told the Prophet. "We had not precisely pinpointed Voldemort's whereabouts for around two years. The Death Eater explained to us a chasm in where the Dark Lord and his followers have been meeting for the last six months. It will be a dangerous task, but we must send Aurors there to investigate soon. This could be our chance to finally vanquish Voldemort." Moody has dubbed the chasm "The Abyss of the Enemy". He would not say where it is located, only that it is out of the way of the general public. "For now, the public is safe, so we beg the Wizarding world to avoid panic as much as possible. You have the brightest and most brilliant witches and wizards of your time on the case. Please, don't panic." The Aurors will gain a force within the next six months and hope to attack before You-Know- Who gains too much power.  
  
"Hermione, did you see this?" Harry asked excitedly, pointing at the article. Ron leaned over to read it over Harry's shoulder. Hermione flipped her paper to that page and started to read.  
  
"Some good news for once!" Ron exclaimed after finishing the article.  
  
Hermione had a scowl on her face. "I'm not sure if this is necessarily good news, Ron."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Harry asked, cutting into his now cold pancakes.  
  
"Do you know how many Aurors have been killed in the last year? Some of the best in the world have perished. The Ministry can't afford to send in a whole group of the finest Aurors in the world just to conquer Voldemort and his followers."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"The prophecy. The prophecy stated that Harry is the only one who can kill Voldemort."  
  
"But what about Voldemort's supporters? The prophecy didn't mention anything about me being the only one who can kill his followers."  
  
"Yes, but it would be pointless for the Ministry to act now of all times. You aren't ready to face Voldemort and he isn't ready to face you. It would be smarter of them to wait until next year in order to battle it out, the Aurors against the Death Eaters and you against Voldemort."  
  
"But Hermione, it says that Moody was the one doing the interrogating. This must have something to do with the Order of the Phoenix."  
  
"The Order can't afford to lose any more people either, though," Harry said, thinking of Emmeline Vance.  
  
"Exactly," Hermione chimed in again. "The Auror Department needs time to regroup. We need to focus more on a defensive stance rather than offensive. Tonks would know more on the subject." They scanned the front table to find one person missing: Tonks herself.  
  
"She's not up at the Head Table. You don't think she would leave, do you?"  
  
"No," Harry said. "She wouldn't leave Hogwarts. I'll bet she's in her office right now."  
  
"We'll go after breakfast," Hermione decided, taking a bite out of her own pancakes while still reading the Prophet.  
  
"At least it's a Saturday and we don't have to go sneaking around skiving off classes," Ron muttered, sounding much like a disgruntled Hermione.  
  
* * *  
  
The trio knocked on Tonks' office door. She opened it with a combined look of grief, excitement, and sadness on her face. "Oh, hello, Hermione, Ron, Harry. How are you doing today?"  
  
"Tonks, we saw the Daily Prophet today," Hermione told her professor bluntly. "We would like to know more about the progress on the Abyss of the Enemy,"  
  
Tonks smiled weakly. "I knew you three would be up here some time today. You never seem to miss a beat." She stepped back to let them into her office.  
  
"So how has it been going?" Ron asked.  
  
"Not well, I'm afraid," Tonks said, heaving a great sigh. "Moody told the reporters about the Abyss of the Enemy only to get them off our backs. Frankly, we are no closer to capturing Voldemort's Death Eaters than we were three months ago."  
  
"But don't you know where the Abyss of the Enemy is located?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, but that just isn't enough. There will be much more suffering before victory. We have lost a fourth of the Aurors in our department at the Ministry. Any more and the work for one Auror will have to be tripled. We're losing power at a rapid pace. Aside from that, I don't know much more on the subject than you do. I haven't been to Grimmauld Place to catch up on information in ages." She slammed her fist on the desk. "If only Fudge had taken the dementors from power over Azkaban!"  
  
Harry, Hermione, and Ron looked at each other. They had never heard Tonks explode with such a frustration before.  
  
"If we had released those hideous creatures and placed human guards at the entrances of Azkaban instead, we would not have lost so many Aurors in the past months. You three are aware that Fudge refused to take heed of Dumbledore's advice to take the dementors away from the prison, aren't you?"  
  
They nodded.  
  
"I'm afraid Fudge won't last much longer," Tonks said. While looking closer at her, Harry could tell that she had not had a decent night's sleep in weeks.  
  
"Will you be leaving to help with the Abyss of the Enemy?" Hermione asked Tonks.  
  
"No. I can't abandon my teaching position. Besides that, I still have to finish Harry's Auror training. As much as we try to help, Harry, in the end it will all be up to you."  
  
"So everyone keeps on reminding me," came Harry's irritable reply. Tonks' faint smile reappeared and the four became silent.  
  
Ron wittily broke the silence. "So in other words, no pressure, right, Harry?" 


	15. Losing Hope

Chapter 15  
Losing Hope  
  
"My Lord, all is ready for your travel to the chasm," Lucius Malfoy told Voldemort, bowing as he entered the room.  
  
"Good, excellent work, Malfoy. You shall have your just reward," the towering wizard said, turning from his pet serpent towards one of his most faithful Death Eaters.  
  
"Thank you, my Lord." Malfoy left as quickly as he had come.  
  
"Wormtail!"  
  
"Yes, Lord?" a small mousy man asked, emerging from one of the shadowy corners of the room.  
  
"Prepare for a long distance journey. We will arrive at Moody's 'Abyss of the Enemy' yet tonight." He took in a long, shaky breath. "I feel power. My senses are growing stronger." Voldemort turned back towards his serpent Nagini and he stroked her large, triangular-shaped head. "No, I am not ready to face the boy just yet, nor him me. Next year, yes, next year will be the final decisive duel between us. Two of the most powerful wizards of our time will duel...until death." Lord Voldemort let out a shrill unnatural laugh. Still chortling, he muttered to himself. "A mere boy will not be my downfall. I will be rid of him once and for all! Next year, Wormtail, your master will have full power; full strength over all the Earth. Next year..."  
  
* * *  
  
Harry awoke with a start from a dream in a cold sweat. It was all so real. Which it probably was, he told himself uneasily. It was a crisp Saturday morning in February and Harry had a Quidditch game in a few hours against Slytherin. He put on his glasses and slipped out of bed. Fully awake, he knew he would never get any more sleep. Quickly, Harry changed into his robes, grabbed his Firebolt, and walked out of the dormitory. He would just go out to the Quidditch pitch for an early morning ride. The whole castle was open to him, but even exploring the castle had lost its fun over the last few months due to the stress placed upon him with Auror training, Quidditch, and school to think of all at once.  
  
Pretty soon, he became lost in his thoughts and hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Soon Harry ran into something solid. Looking up, he realized it was Dumbledore, still clad in a bathrobe over pinstriped pajamas with matching fuzzy slippers. "Good morning, Harry. Out for an early morning stroll I see?" the elderly man asked, a smile spreading across his face.  
  
"Oh, hello, Professor. I was just going out to the Quidditch field for a quick ride," Harry said, gesturing to his broomstick.  
  
"Ah, so I see. Would you like a quick mug of hot chocolate and a conversation before you go?"  
  
"Sure." Soon, Harry was up in the headmaster's circular office, the portraits of previous headmasters sleeping in their frames. A few of them had fallen off their chairs and a couple more were drooling in their sleep.  
  
"So, Harry," Dumbledore said, magically producing two steaming hot cups of hot cocoa and a pot full of more onto the desk, "there's no point in me attempting to avoid the subject: how are your Auror training sessions going?"  
  
"Tonks says I'm coming along nicely, but I highly doubt that."  
  
"What makes you doubt your progress?"  
  
"Well, everything from it taking me so long to learn the spells to the fact that I have so many things to do all at once," Harry told Dumbledore, who was contentedly sipping the hot chocolate. Soon he had let all his emotions out: the stress from all his N.E.W.T. courses, trying to keep up with Quidditch, and the anger with himself that he was the only one who could vanquish Voldemort. The headmaster patiently listened and waited until Harry was completely finished before starting to talk himself.  
  
"You have shown an extraordinary endurance to keeping up with everything, Harry. Not many wizards your age would be able to handle all the stress placed upon your shoulders. I don't doubt that you will burn out and need a break sometime in the near future. I have arranged with Tonks that during the month of March you will not have any Auror training sessions."  
  
"But, what about Voldemort?"  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"Won't he have the advantage against me?"  
  
"Many grown witches and wizards don't know half the spells you have learned in the past months. If you keep at it without bothering to take a break, you will break. Too much pressure has been placed upon your shoulders. Then during the month of April, the Gryffindor Quidditch team will not take part in any matches. I hope that this will lighten your load a bit. During March, you will be able to focus on Quidditch and your classes while during April, you will be able to focus on your Auror training and your classes."  
  
"What about the tournament for the Quidditch Cup?"  
  
"Gryffindor will be in the running and we shall start the matches a bit early to accommodate to your schedule. I dare say if Gryffindor isn't in the running for the Cup, Professor McGonagall would have my head."  
  
Harry let out a chuckle and Dumbledore smiled. Silence fell upon them as they both drank deeply from their mugs. "Professor?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I—I had a dream last night. It was about Voldemort." Dumbledore's mug stopped midway to his mouth.  
  
"What was it about? Did he do anything of importance?"  
  
"Lucius Malfoy entered a room and told Voldemort that all was ready to travel to the Abyss of the Enemy. Then Voldemort had Peter Pettigrew prepare for a long journey. He said they would arrive at the Abyss that same night."  
  
"Which was last night," Dumbledore finished. He sighed deeply. "Harry, do you know what this means?"  
  
"Not exactly, Professor."  
  
"It means that Lord Voldemort is biding his time. Neither of you are ready to face each other just yet, but once you both gain full strength, you will fight in a duel—that will last to the finish."  
  
"That's exactly what Voldemort was saying. So why is he leading the Ministry to the Abyss of the Enemy?"  
  
"His goal is to kill off as many Aurors as possible before facing you. I'm afraid we will have to pay the price to the Death Eaters before the end."  
  
"But I saw Lucius Malfoy talking to Voldemort!" Harry said quickly, an idea formulating in his head. "Isn't that enough to get him into Azkaban?"  
  
"Would it make any difference if he went to Azkaban? There have been so many breakouts that it is pointless to imprison anyone there anymore."  
  
"Why not put Aurors as guards?"  
  
Dumbledore took in a deep breath and looked extremely angered. "Cornelius Fudge still refuses to take Azkaban from the control of the dementors. The thing is that those hideous creatures no longer follow his direction, though he refuses to see it."  
  
"Why don't you take the Minister of Magic job then, sir?"  
  
"Harry, many different people have suggested that to me, but I have refused the position because my work is here. My task is to teach the young people of the Wizarding world about the wonders of their powers. I am not meant to become a Minister, nor would I be able to handle the stress and pressures of the job. Cornelius is more than qualified, he just needs to sort out his priorities once in a while."  
  
They both started sipping their hot cocoa again until Harry once more broke the silence. "How am I to duel with Voldemort if our wands are brothers? Wouldn't Priori Incantatem take place again, like it did when I dueled with him in my fourth year?"  
  
"No. Priori Incantatem is an extraordinarily complex and—odd sort of spell. Wands that are siblings only connect when they first meet each other in a duel. Otherwise, they operate as any two wands would against each other. Little is known on this intriguing event, as it rarely occurs. Priori Incantatem worked to your advantage the last time you actually dueled against Lord Voldemort. You will be unaided the next time you duel against him."  
  
Once again, silence fell over the two. "Professor?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What was Tom Riddle like when he was in school?"  
  
Dumbledore sighed. "Tom Riddle was one of the most intellectual people that has ever crossed the threshold into this castle. He especially excelled in Charms. Tom knew half the incantations at the level of third year before he even entered the school. An amazing feat, learning two and a half years of material in less than a month. Upon seeing the basic Charm homework pointless, his interests wandered. Having little to no interest in Quidditch, he spent his spare hours in the library, studying. Many teachers found this work ethic the mark of a good student, but I found it increasingly alarming.  
  
"As you know, Harry, I was the Transfiguration teacher when Tom Riddle came to school here at Hogwarts. He did his work in silence, rarely talking to other people. Those endless hours in the library caused him to become quite unpopular. He was an excellent student, yes, but he was starting to study too much.  
  
"It did not surprise me when Tom was named a prefect, nor when he became Head Boy. He was an ideal student, and extraordinarily intelligent. When Tom was in his fifth year, I caught him reading a book dedicated to the Dark Arts. He was emerged in it, and I could tell was reading the words hungrily. An unnatural gleam resided in his eyes as he read. It wasn't just a look of interest, but rather, a look of yearning for power. I tried to take the book away from him, but he turned on me, wand in hand.  
  
"I wasn't going to duel with a student, so I let him keep his book. However, I went straight toward Professor Dippet's office. He was headmaster at that time. I told him about Tom's unnatural behavior, but he refused to do anything about it. He said I should let Tom do his work in peace. After that, I always suspected Tom Riddle of studying the Dark Arts."  
  
"So all that Dark Arts stuff started with his unpopularity?"  
  
"It helped. His enjoyment of telling people what to do also encouraged the Dark power inside of him to emerge."  
  
"I always thought Voldemort just started a group out of school friends."  
  
"Tom Riddle was an extremely handsome boy. From the outside, anyone could see that he could have had the popularity if he had wanted it, but Tom just couldn't seem to see that. He believed all his classmates despised him."  
  
"I never knew," Harry whispered under his breath.  
  
"Few know about Lord Voldemort's past. Not many even know that Voldemort was once Tom Riddle, the intelligent handsome boy who once wandered these same corridors. Now, Harry, the sun appears to be rising. I suggest you get your early morning ride in as soon as possible."  
  
Harry hadn't realized that he was still holding onto his Firebolt. "Thank you, Professor."  
  
"You're welcome. And Harry?" he added before the teenager could walk out the door.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Good luck on the Quidditch match today. I'm sure Gryffindor will do splendidly."  
  
Harry smiled. "Thank you, Professor." 


	16. Dark Times

Chapter 16  
  
Dark Times  
  
March passed by quickly, as did April, even without as heavy of a load on Harry. He knew Dumbledore had meant for him to not think about his Auror training in March and his Quidditch training in April, but that did not stop him from it. He constantly practiced his spells without Tonks and even though there weren't any Quidditch matches scheduled for a month, he had the team practicing at least twice a week to keep in shape; Gryffindor had made it once again to the decisive game for the Quidditch Cup against Slytherin in the middle of June.  
  
"I don't know how you do it, mate," Ron told him one day as he faithfully watched his best friend work one Saturday.  
  
"Do what?" Harry asked, looking up from his Potions homework.  
  
"Everything. I'm under enough stress and I don't have half the amount of homework as you nor the Auror training. How do you do it?"  
  
"To tell you the truth, I don't know," Harry said thoughtfully. Lately he had been on a study schedule frighteningly similar to Hermione's: first one up in the morning, last one to bed at night and somehow managing to remember everything in between.  
  
"I'm afraid you're becoming a workaholic, Harry. Before we know it, there will be another Percy wandering through these halls."  
  
* * *  
  
"Transformation potions. Extremely complex, extremely difficult, and, to some," Snape took the opportunity to sneer at Harry, "extremely confusing. This week we will be creating one of the simplest of transformation potions—which also takes the least amount of time to make: a human to animal potion." Snape sneered at the side of the room the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs sat.  
  
"Now, I ask you all to take extreme caution this week. On Friday we will be—testing someone's potion. They will drink it and if it's right, will turn into the respective animal of their potion." Snape's gaze fell on Harry again, who knew he had once again been the subject of the Potions master's hatred. "The instructions are written here on the board," he said as he pointed his wand to the blackboard. "And the ingredients you do not have in your regular potion kits are located on the table in the front. Get to work."  
  
Hermione read the board immediately and went to gather her ingredients. Harry however had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to be doing as he read the ingredients. Powdered talon of a bezoar...three dried Billywig stings...powdered Erumpent horn... He had no idea what most of them were. A swift knock interrupted the class's thoughts. "Enter," Snape said lazily. Professor McGonagall entered the room, gestured to Harry to follow her to Snape's desk, and started to talk briskly to the both of them before Harry had even approached the desk.  
  
"...I must take Harry so Professor Dumbledore can talk to him at once."  
  
"Potter has to start his potion and complete his lesson. If this is another photo shoot..."  
  
"Severus! Of all people I thought you would understand. You have spent part of the summer with Harry and fully know about the Abyss of the Enemy and the Order." She lowered her voice as the subject matter grew even more secretive.  
  
"Yes, but Potter cannot miss out on my class! He has over an hour to complete yet."  
  
"I am aware that he has class, but this is urgent; it could lead to a life or death situation."  
  
"Fine. Fine...Potter, leave my class at once! I expect you to make up this lost work time within the next two days."  
  
Harry mouthed a quick "see you later" to Hermione and followed Professor McGonagall out of the dungeon. He almost had to run to keep up with her quick strides. "What is this about, Professor?"  
  
"Professor Dumbledore will explain everything in detail once we reach his office, but for now all I can tell you is that the Ministry sent twenty Aurors to explore the Abyss of the Enemy and keep it under control. None returned."  
  
Harry's heart sank. "You mean they—they—died?"  
  
"I'm afraid so." She quickened her pace even more, and more lines appeared to be spreading across her face. "I cannot tell you anything more than that."  
  
After five silent minutes, they were entering the headmaster's office. Seated next to his desk were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody, Professor Dumbledore, and Sirius in ghost form. Immediately, Harry's godfather glided over to him, checking him over thoroughly. "Are you all right?"  
  
Harry could merely grunt in reply. Sirius appeared to have understood, as he led Harry over to a seat in between him and Mrs. Weasley. Harry smiled at her and she squeezed his hand in a worried manner. Dumbledore began to speak. "The Ministry of Magic sent twenty Aurors to keep the Abyss of the Enemy under control. None of them returned. It appears Voldemort is gaining even more power than we originally anticipated, even though he himself is steering clear of the actual fighting. He is gaining power, therefore gaining supporters. Whether or not this sudden increase in support of the Dark Arts is a forced act we do not know.  
  
"Fear has caused terror throughout the Wizarding world. No longer do people feel safe when they go to bed at night. No longer is there peace and prosperity. And no longer do we have a line of eager students wanting to pursue Aurorism.  
  
"Harry, you are approximately halfway through your training. I hate to call on you when you haven't yet completed it, but I am afraid we have no choice. Next month, we will be sending all of the Aurors we can spare to the Abyss. I am afraid you will have to go as well. We need your help to put more Death Eaters in Azkaban."  
  
Harry couldn't help himself from interrupting. "But isn't Azkaban still under the control of the dementors?"  
  
"Not anymore. Just last night I managed to convince Cornelius to place Aurors to stand guard at the gates, at least temporarily. They will be the best of the best and we will not put up with any more breakouts. I am afraid our attack on the Abyss will lead to consequences, however. There cannot be a victory for us without great loss."  
  
"Not that we haven't suffered great loss already, eh, Dumbledore?" growled Moody.  
  
"I am aware of this, Alastor, which is why I am taking charge of this situation. Cornelius appears to have his eyes set on other things. The more Death Eaters we put into Azkaban, the better."  
  
"But, Harry isn't done with his training yet!" Mrs. Weasley objected. She had gone pale. "You shouldn't send him out unprepared."  
  
Dumbledore turned towards her with a kind face. "Molly, you must understand. I know you consider Harry part of your family, but he must go."  
  
"As his godfather, I think I should have a say in this," Sirius said from Harry's left side.  
  
"I am open to any suggestions," Dumbledore replied, listening intently.  
  
"How about Harry goes to the Abyss, but doesn't necessarily fight? He could stand on the sidelines and jump in when the time is right."  
  
"That would never work," Moody replied irritably. "Potter can't just dance around the Dark Lord forever. He's faced evil many times before and he's still here, all in one piece, isn't he?" The aging Auror gestured in Harry's direction and gave him a twisted grin, which Harry returned.  
  
"I am afraid, Moody, that Harry is simply too young," Mr. Weasley interjected, agreeing with his wife.  
  
"Wasn't too young to face him before now, was he?" Moody growled. "Wasn't too young when he only had a year in his favor?"  
  
"Those were...mandatory circumstances."  
  
"Can I please have a say in my fate?" Harry said, stopping the argument before it got worse.  
  
The tension in the room was so great that few had even heard him. "Go ahead, Harry," Dumbledore said, gesturing for him to continue.  
  
"I will go to the Abyss of the Enemy and I will fight against the Death Eaters. I've faced death many times before and if Voldemort isn't even prepared to face me yet, I am in no extreme danger."  
  
"But the Death Eaters--" Mrs. Weasley started.  
  
"The prophecy from last year said only Voldemort can kill me and only I can kill Voldemort. His followers are dangerous, yes, but not powerful enough to kill me."  
  
"It is decided, then," Dumbledore said, standing up. Looking disheveled, Sirius stood up next to Harry and gave him what he apparently thought to be a comforting smile.  
  
"Can we talk in private?" Harry's godfather asked him as everyone started to leave.  
  
"Sure," Harry replied, excusing himself from the group and followed Sirius to the corner of the room.  
  
"I'm really proud of you, Harry, you know that right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, I was going to take part in the debate so I could tell you what to do until I realized you are almost a full-grown wizard. You need to start making choices on your own. I really want you to go to the Abyss. Not necessarily fight, but just to be there on hand. I have a feeling you will accomplish more by actually being there than sitting idle here at Hogwarts. I of all people would understand the feeling of confinement," he added bitterly.  
  
"Thanks, Sirius."  
  
"No problem. Listen, I have to leave, but ask Dumbledore to summon me if you need me. Bye, Harry."  
  
"Good-bye Sirius," Harry replied as the ghost form of his godfather disappeared. 


	17. Desperate Times, Desperate Measures

Chapter 17  
Desperate Times, Desperate Measures  
  
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as he told her and Ron what he had decided to do. "You can't do that! Not when you have over half of your Auror training left."  
  
"She's right, mate," Ron agreed. Even his freckles had turned pale.  
  
"Why not? Those other times I faced Voldemort--"  
  
"You didn't do out of your own free will," Hermione stated. "You had no choice but to face him to save your own life!"  
  
"Listen, I need to do this. I can't just sit idle while Voldemort and his followers murder all these Aurors around me. Moody himself said I can't just dance around Voldemort all my life. Eventually I'll have to face him, so why not start now?"  
  
"Because you're so young!" Hermione looked thoroughly terrified.  
  
Harry took a deep breath. "Hermione," he stated as gently as he could, "if I don't do this, I won't be able to face him next year when I have to face him with a duel to the death." Both Ron and Hermione shivered. "You've both seen the constant reports of murdered Aurors. They need help." There was a long pause.  
  
"I'll help you, Harry," Ron said quietly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'll—I'll help you train, or I'll go with you to the Abyss next month or something. I can't sit here watching Vol—Voldemort gain power again." He shuddered at his own daring to say the name; Ron was the only one not accustomed to it yet.  
  
"Me too," Hermione replied after a while, sighing. "I'm sorry I got all worked up, Harry."  
  
"Not a problem."  
  
"What can we do to help?"  
  
* * *  
  
With Ron and Hermione's assistance the remaining month of training seemed fairly bearable to Harry. Hermione constantly tutored Harry and helped him with his homework while Ron became the subject of practice for certain spells.  
  
"You're getting the hang of it, mate," Ron said as he picked himself off the floor after getting full-front of his own Jelly Legs Charm off of Harry's Shield Charm. Hermione ran in the room, obviously pleased with something.  
  
"I've just been to see Professor McGonagall! Exams are next week, but she says that no matter what all three of us have made it through this year into next year's N.E.W.T. classes."  
  
"Just what I wanted, more Divination," Ron said sulkily.  
  
"At least you don't have to put up with Snape," Harry pointed out.  
  
"True, but still, I don't think I can take much more of that old bat."  
  
"Well, you should have taken after me and switched out of it in third year. You could have learned so much more in Professor Vector's Arithmancy class than that dumb fortune telling stuff," Hermione said indignantly.  
  
"I'll probably end up in the Ministry of Magic like Dad anyway." Ron fell onto the pillows they had been using for practice in McGonagall's unused classroom after supper and put his head in his hands.  
  
"Cheer up. At least you don't have to stay in the Muggle department," Hermione's huffiness temporarily disappeared.  
  
"Wish I was like you, Harry. Wish I could become an Auror."  
  
Harry didn't know what to say that would cheer Ron up.  
  
"There's still a chance for that," Hermione said, her eyes becoming wistful. "Just give me a second in the library..." With that she rushed out of the classroom and dashed towards the library.  
  
"What's her idea?" Ron asked Harry.  
  
"No idea. Let's get some more practice in before we turn in..."  
  
* * *  
  
A half an hour later Hermione came rushing into the Gryffindor common room with a huge book under her arm. She dropped it on the table where Ron and Harry were working. "More light reading?" Ron asked innocently.  
  
Hermione glared at him. "No, actually. This is the answer to you wanting to become an Auror after we're done with school." She started to turn the old dusty pages quickly.  
  
"It looks like that book hasn't been touched for centuries."  
  
"That's because it hasn't," Hermione replied without looking up from her reading.  
  
"What?"  
  
She reluctantly opened the book to the front cover. "See? October 10, 1573 was the last time someone checked it out."  
  
"Isn't it a bit outdated?" Harry had to ask.  
  
"Of course not! Although Madam Pince may seem a bit...well, ancient, she makes sure to keep the books in the library updated."  
  
"We wouldn't want wrong information from a library now, would we?" Ron asked, but Hermione didn't hear him nor did she catch the sarcasm. Her eyes briskly scanned the page.  
  
"Here it is! 'If someone wishes to become an Auror who does not fulfill requirements, a five-year training option is available. Two years will focus on completing N.E.W.T. requirements...' "They had N.E.W.T.s back then?" Ron interrupted. "'...and the next three will comprise of the typical Auror training.'"  
  
"Just what I need, more school," Ron groaned.  
  
"Look at the bright side, at least you don't have Snape to worry about for Potions," Harry told Ron.  
  
"You have a valid point."  
  
Hermione glared at the two of them. "Listen, Snape isn't all that bad."  
  
"What about when he gave you a zero just for asking a question about the potion last week?" Harry asked.  
  
"I know he hates people from Gryffindor, but really is he all that bad?"  
  
"Yes," came the monotonous simultaneous answer.  
  
"He belongs to the Order..." Hermione started under her breath.  
  
"We know he's in the Order, but he hates Harry."  
  
"Honestly," Hermione said, rolling her eyes as she turned back to her book. 


	18. Changes

Chapter 18  
Changes  
  
"Potter, this is useless," Snape drawled one evening when Harry had been in the dungeons trying to make up some of his missed and failed potions. "This truth potion is obviously not penetrating your thick skull. It should be a light blue color at the moment." Harry didn't think his potion was all that bad. Sure the blue was more navy than anything else and the liquid thinner than it should have been, but other than that he had followed the directions precisely.  
  
"Sir, could we quit for tonight please?"  
  
"Not until you complete your potion."  
  
"But, sir, I have to study some more for exams tomorrow."  
  
"Well, you should have started your studies last week."  
  
"I did."  
  
"Don't you talk back to me, Potter! Your failure in any subject but Potions is none of my concern. Now, you should let your potion simmer for twenty minutes and then add the powdered bezoar talon..."  
  
Seething, Harry turned back to his potion and began stirring it fervently. To think he had felt sorry for Snape only last summer...  
  
* * *  
  
Harry finally managed to get back to the common room at 11:30, finding every Gryffindor still frantically studying for the exams tomorrow. He managed to find Ron and Hermione in the back corner, both quizzing each other on tricky spells, obscure animals, and impossible potions. They paused when they saw Harry walking towards them.  
  
"How did it go?" Hermione asked, stretching her neck from being hunched over for so long.  
  
"Horribly," Harry replied, plopping down in a chair next to Ginny who looked green. She was muttering charms under her breath to study for her O.W.L.s the next day.  
  
"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad, was it?"  
  
"You try being in a room alone with Snape for three and a half hours."  
  
"How many did you have to make up?" Ron asked.  
  
"Four. One I missed and the others he just refused to grade."  
  
"Do you want to study with us?" Hermione asked, turning back to her extensive Transfiguration notes. "We were just starting on human transformations and I know you were having some trouble when we covered it in class."  
  
"No, I think I'll get some studying done in the morning. I'm exhausted right now." Harry looked around to see a few droopy-eyed Gryffindors starting to fall asleep on their books and notes. "Besides, I studied a bit last week and McGonagall did say that we would all go on to the next N.E.W.T. courses next year." Harry stood up and yawned luxuriously. "See you guys in the morning."  
  
* * *  
  
"Potter, come with me up to the headmaster's office," Professor Snape told him just before he reached the Great Hall with Hermione and Ron. Obediently but reluctantly, he followed, telling his best friends he would join them later.  
  
Snape's step was even quicker than usual, so Harry had to practically run to keep up. This had been the last thing he wanted to do the start of the first day of his final exams; he had wanted to get some last minute studying in before the tests. "Professor?"  
  
"Yes?" Snape snapped as he took a sharp turn to the left to go through a secret passageway in a tapestry Harry had never used before.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"The headmaster has some last minute changes and information before you will be traveling to the Abyss of the Enemy."  
  
Harry didn't dare ask for more information. Dumbledore hadn't even told him the original plan for his trip to the Abyss. They exited the secret hallway and sure enough, the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office was right in front of them. "Chocolate frog," Snape mumbled as the gargoyle sprang aside, allowing them entrance. Sure enough, the all too familiar spiral staircase appeared, leading them upward. Harry followed the Potions master onto a moving step.  
  
"Cornelius, you must understand..." came the frantic voice of Professor McGonagall from inside the wooden door.  
  
"I understand plenty, Minerva," Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic replied. "The boy does not have enough experience, he is not ready..." Snape opened the door and beckoned Harry into the room where the conversation abruptly stopped.  
  
"The boy, headmaster."  
  
"Thank you, Severus."  
  
"Harry! How wonderful to see you again," Fudge said in a mock-friendly tone as he stood up and violently shook Harry's hand.  
  
"You too."  
  
"As you probably heard, Potter," Professor McGonagall said as she shot a dirty look at Fudge, "we were just discussing your trip to the Abyss." She looked older than Harry had ever seen her.  
  
Immediately, Harry turned towards the Minister. "I am ready and I do have enough experience. I've faced Voldemort before, and I can do it again."  
  
"I understand this, Harry, but you're so young! You haven't completed your Auror training yet and that could be vital to survival against the Dark Lord."  
  
"That isn't all that bothers me," Dumbledore said wearily.  
  
"What? You didn't tell me about something else you wanted to talk about!" the Minister exclaimed.  
  
"It is something between Severus, Minerva, Harry, and I. You may wait outside the door, Cornelius."  
  
"Are you throwing me out?!"  
  
"No, I simply want a private word with Harry."  
  
"Anything you have to say to the boy here you can say in front of me."  
  
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Cornelius..."  
  
"Fine, I'll leave!" he exclaimed reluctantly as he walked out onto the landing outside the office door, slamming it shut behind him. Snape placed a seal on the door with his wand so the Minister could not hear their discussion.  
  
"Please sit down, Harry." Obediently, the teenager sat in the chair in between Professors McGonagall and Snape.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked tentatively.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why did you send the Minister out of your office?"  
  
"Cornelius knows nothing about the Order of the Phoenix and I intend to keep it that way. I dare say he would think I am simply starting a rebellion against the Ministry." Dumbledore sighed. "And now back to the topic at hand. Harry, do you remember a few months ago you were concerned with a teammate, Zachary Lyons?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"It appears he has finally accomplished the task Mr. Malfoy assigned to him. Just recently, the Order has found a map of the Abyss of the Enemy. It appears this cavern has been around for hundreds of years and been used by Dark forces for just as long. The map is at least four hundred years old, and it plots the locations of great treasure as well as a great source of power. The Death Eaters have been hungry for an increase of their ability to command and control the general Wizarding population. This ancient power that we have kept contained in the last four hundred years is dangerous, and extremely deadly if placed in the wrong hands. Just last night, I looked over the map the Order had just sent to me. An urgent call beckoned me out of the office, so I gently placed the map in a secure place—a place I thought was secure. It appears while I was out of my office Mr. Lyons broke in, found the map, and took it directly to Draco Malfoy. I caught them immediately after Mr. Malfoy sent the map with his owl to his father. They are both suspended."  
  
Harry sunk back farther into his chair. This couldn't be happening. "When am I leaving?"  
  
"Directly after exams today. Tonks, Alastor Moody, Arthur and Molly Weasley, and a small group of all the Aurors we can spare will accompany you."  
  
"What about tomorrow's exams?"  
  
"You are excused from them. Next year you will continue your N.E.W.T. courses as well as your training."  
  
"Headmaster?"  
  
"Yes, Severus?"  
  
"Potter here must take my exam. I thought we had agreed that no student who fails my final exam will not continue in the Potions N.E.W.T. program?"  
  
"These are special circumstances, Severus. You know how much and how hard Harry has worked this year. I'm sure he would pass the test with flying colors." The elderly man turned towards the teenager and smiled. Harry smiled back.  
  
"I do not believe in special treatment of students."  
  
"Neither do I, Severus, but this must be an exception."  
  
Running out of retaliations, Snape sank back into his chair and sulked. McGonagall still hadn't said anything. "Don't you agree with me, Minerva?"  
  
"Yes," she replied in her sharp tone. "I must tell you this before you leave for the Abyss, Potter. You have shown a bravery and courage beyond any student I have seen in this school during your short time here. I am proud of your accomplishments and wish you the best of luck in facing Lord Voldemort." Her voice started to crack, but Harry appreciated her words all the same.  
  
"Severus?"  
  
"Yes, headmaster?"  
  
"Bring Cornelius back in here. He must understand before we send Harry to the Abyss."  
  
Snape stood up, swiftly walked over to the door, and beckoned the Minister back inside. Looking disheveled and extremely harassed, Fudge walked in and sat down in the chair directly to McGonagall's right. "So I assume you are done talking behind my back then, Dumbledore?" he asked rudely.  
  
"You must understand our reasoning for sending Harry and the Aurors to the Abyss of the Enemy before they leave, Cornelius."  
  
"I understand plenty. You simply want a reason to have the opportunity to take over my job! You've always wanted to be Minister of Magic and this is your chance...I should have seen it all along!"  
  
McGonagall became outraged. "Do you think Dumbledore wants the stress of Minister of Magic?! He belongs right here in Hogwarts and wouldn't even consider taking your job! Why else did he decline all those offers for your position? You've always had poor judgment, Fudge, and you know it. You have bombarded him with letter for advice every morning and won't make an important decision without consulting Albus first!"  
  
Harry watched Fudge cower under Professor McGonagall's outrage. "I—I see, Minerva," he stuttered. "I—well, I'm sorry. Please continue, Albus." He kept a keen eye on McGonagall who was still seething, but staring intently at Dumbledore.  
  
"I have to admit, you have made some wrong choices in your reign as Minister of Magic, Cornelius, which is why I took control of the information the Aurors obtained about the Abyss of the Enemy. Now as you know, Harry has been studying Aurorism over the course of this last year--"  
  
"What? This is news to me, Albus! You know the rules of Auror hopefuls! They must complete a three-year training after graduation from a magical institution."  
  
"I explained to you in September what my plans for Harry have been. This is a special case, Cornelius."  
  
"Surely not special enough to go against the rules!"  
  
"Potter has considered himself to be above the rules ever since he arrived here, Minister," Snape said. "Bending the rules has been a pastime of his."  
  
"Silence, Severus. Whether you like it or not, Cornelius, we are sending a group of Aurors to the Abyss of the Enemy this evening. They will take Harry with them."  
  
"Preposterous! This is going too far, Dumbledore..." the Minister started but soon stopped after McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
"Harry, you will travel to the Abyss of the Enemy this evening," Dumbledore said, adjourning the meeting. "For now you had better go get some breakfast. Good luck on your exams." With that Harry left the office, leaving a disgruntled Fudge in his wake. 


	19. The Crystal of Tritum

AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who are not Latin gurus, tritum is Latin for terror...  
  
Chapter 19  
The Crystal of Tritum  
  
Harry couldn't seem to concentrate on his exams that day. Everything he did seemed to remind him of the impending trip to the Abyss of the Enemy later that day. All through Transfiguration, Harry looked up at Professor McGonagall and saw her increasingly worried face. He knew her nerves were starting to get to her.  
  
When the bell rang for lunch, his Transfiguration professor looked up at him and grimly nodded. Harry understood. He needed no words.  
  
* * *  
  
The rest of the day went by in a blur for Harry. After lunch, he, Ron, and Hermione had their Charms and Care of Magical Creatures exams.  
  
"All righ' there, Harry?" Hagrid asked as they approached his cabin before their test.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Hagrid lowered his voice. "Dumbledore told me what yer going to do later today, Harry. Going to the Abyss an' everything. Yeh nervous?"  
  
"A little," Harry replied truthfully.  
  
"All I can tell you is if anyone can face a confrontation with Voldemort, it's you, Harry. I can't think of a single person who would be able to handle it other than you." With that, the half-giant patted Harry's shoulder, causing his knees to buckle.  
  
"Thanks, Hagrid."  
  
* * *  
  
Immediately after Care of Magical Creatures, Dumbledore caught up with Harry. "Come to my office, please, Harry. You will travel to the Abyss from there." Ron and Hermione wished him a grievous "good luck" and he followed Dumbledore towards the stone gargoyle guarding his office. "I am aware of your slight nervousness, Harry, but let me inform you of something. In all my years of teaching and as headmaster here at Hogwarts, I have never seen a student as dedicated and courageous as you. Your loyalties to me and to this school are unsurpassable. No other student could match the bravery you have shown in these last six years. While you are in the Abyss, remember that you have my full support. Chocolate frog." The gargoyle jumped away, exposing the moving staircase. Harry hopped on it for the second time that day, Dumbledore at his side.  
  
They entered the office where Moody, Tonks, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Elphias Doge all stood. Immediately when Harry walked in the door Mrs. Weasley ran up to him and hugged him. "Are you all right, Harry?" Without waiting for an answer, she started to flatten his hair nervously. Dumbledore began to talk.  
  
"Your Guard for tonight, Harry. There were supposed to be more, similar to your Advance Guard last year, but due to current circumstances they could not leave their posts. I believe you know everyone standing here?"  
  
"Yes," Harry managed to choke out weakly. "How are we to get there?"  
  
"Portkey!" Tonks replied brightly, brandishing an old fork from what looked to be the part of a set. "Sirius wouldn't have minded if we stole one of his mum's old forks, now would he?" she asked cheerily as if their mission was one of simplicity.  
  
"It should take effect in thirty seconds, right, Tonks?" Kingsley asked.  
  
"Yup. Everyone gather round now..." She held out the Portkey so everyone could reach it.  
  
"Good luck to all of you," Dumbledore said as the office started to swirl and Harry felt himself spinning into the unknown, his Guard at his side...  
  
* * *  
  
Harry looked up as he landed uncomfortably on a rocky ground in the middle of a large chasm. There were many hidden caves and cavities around them. The sky became overcast as the Aurors started to look around and explore a few of the unknown caverns. Not knowing what to do, Harry kept close to Mr. Weasley, whose grim nod Harry returned. "I tried to keep Molly from coming here," he muttered to Harry, "but she refused. I told her it would be really dangerous here and she should stay at Grimmauld Place, but she was so worried about you she just couldn't stay at headquarters."  
  
"So you two are Aurors, then?"  
  
"Yes. We started taking the five-year program through the Ministry the summer before you and Ron started school. Dumbledore came to us knowing that something like this would happen eventually and he would need to rely on us. We became Aurors just before the Order of the Phoenix emerged." Mr. Weasley started to look into a nearby cave that was part of an elaborate labyrinth until he heard the chilling laughter. All of Harry's Guard immediately stopped what they had been doing and came together regrouped in the middle of the Abyss. Harry looked straight ahead and sure enough, about fifty figures clad in dark robes Apparated with small pops at various places in the cavern: the Death Eaters. They formed an arc facing the Aurors, leaving room for two people in the middle. Sure enough, the unnerving laughter came again. Harry looked around at his Guard; not one of them showed signs of emotion. Lord Voldemort's form appeared through the mist as he walked steadily forward towards the Aurors and Harry, Wormtail at his side. Wormtail stopped when he reached his place in the arc, but Voldemort continued forward to examine the Guard.  
  
He smiled a malicious smile. "Harry Potter," he said immediately, "I knew we would meet again." He paced in front of the miniscule group of his enemies. "I knew Dumbledore would want to send his faithful servant to face me." The cat-like eyes focused on Harry for a long time, but he didn't say anything in reply nor did he show any emotion. The Dark Lord's thin mouth formed into a malevolent smile. "You have been trained in the Aurorism field well, Harry Potter. I'm glad, for this will make more of a challenge for me." Harry still said nothing, but stood at his full height to match Voldemort's height. Using the corners of his eyes, he looked at his Guard. None of them seemed phased, although Mrs. Weasley started to shift uneasily. Voldemort continued to examine the other Aurors. "Nymphadora Tonks," he said softly. "I knew we would meet too. Not this early, of course, but I'm not complaining...  
  
"Your mother...yes, I had the pleasure of meeting her just last night." Still he paced, an evil smile plastered on his face, and his eyes focused on Tonks. "You've always hated that name, Nymphadora, isn't that correct?" Tonks didn't answer, but she was starting to look angry. "You need not worry about the woman who gave that name to you any more. I have disposed of her. Pity, though. She was beautiful..."  
  
"NO!!" Tonks screamed and lunged forward to attack the Dark Lord. Kingsley and Moody grabbed onto her arms before she could attack. Voldemort simply chuckled. "Let me at him! LET ME GO!" she screamed.  
  
"You won't be able to do any damage when it's only you against him," Moody said gruffly, struggling to keep hold of her. "Which is why we all came here--"  
  
"I DON'T CARE! HE KILLED MY MOTHER!" Tonks shrieked, her hair turning a violent orange and her face became distorted. "I'll kill you!" she yelled in Voldemort's face. He only looked mildly amused. The Death Eaters behind him chuckled in the same manner their master had moments before.  
  
"Let her go," Voldemort told Moody and Kingsley, who both held Tonks in one place with all their might. "She wishes to face me alone, and I am willing to face her. Let her go."  
  
Kingsley looked up at Voldemort with a hardened face. "You can't control us, Voldemort. We do not fear you."  
  
"You dare speak my name?" the Dark Lord asked quietly as the arc of Death Eaters shivered in anticipation and fear.  
  
"Yes," Kingsley said calmly over the outbursts of Tonks. She still struggled against his and Moody's grips.  
  
Kingsley focused his attention on the Dark Lord, and the grip on Tonks loosened. Seizing this opportunity, she lunged forward. "You'll pay for what you did to my mother!" she yelled as she ran towards him.  
  
"Avada Kedavra," Voldemort said, almost leisurely. A bright green light burst from the end of his raised wand, straight for Tonks. She was dead before she hit the ground.  
  
"TONKS!" Harry shouted. Mr. Weasley caught his arm to keep him from running forward to her lifeless body.  
  
"There's nothing you can do, Harry," he said grimly.  
  
"No! It's my fault she's dead!"  
  
Voldemort laughed under his breath. "That hurt, didn't it, Harry Potter? She was close to you, wasn't she?"  
  
The taunts got to him. Harry took out his wand and shot a Stunner at Voldemort. He dodged it and it was so strong that it knocked four Death Eaters behind him unconscious. Shocked, the Dark Lord turned around to see his followers sprawled on the ground. He turned back to face Harry, but the Aurors were already dueling with the Death Eaters. Elphias had managed to move Tonks' body off to the side. Harry didn't know which way to go first. "Over here, boy," Moody said gruffly as he roughly moved Harry out of the thick of the battle. "There are already seven Death Eaters down, but we need someone to keep the stragglers from escaping. You know how to make a Web of Life?" Harry nodded. "Good. Form one around yourself and stay right here. If anyone tries to escape, send out a Stunning Spell. We'll ship them off to Azkaban once this is over. I'll be at the other end." Moody dodged in and out of the pairs of dueling Death Eaters and Aurors and soon had a large Web around him. Harry grabbed his wand and formed one around himself as well.  
  
Sure enough, a robed figure tried to escape seconds after Harry completed his Web. Quickly, he shot a Stunning Spell at them before they knew what was coming. He looked around at the duels. the Weasleys were dueling together to great effect. All around them Death Eaters fled, but Mrs. Weasley kept many of them still with her Stationary Charms. Countless Death Eaters had apparently tried to sneak away by Moody, but without success. Harry heard the brusque voice boom out over the canyon more than once yelling, "Cowards!" Kingsley was not having as much success. A group of Death Eaters cornered him against the wall. "Enervate!" Harry yelled, a Memory Charm the first on his mind. Two Death Eaters stopped their attack on Kingsley and began to walk around aimlessly.  
  
"Nice one, Harry!" Kingsley yelled, seizing his opportunity to catch the other Death Eaters in their surprise and Stun them. Harry nodded in reply.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" yelled another Death Eater from somewhere to Harry's left. He turned around just in time to see Elphias Doge fall to the ground, his body limp and lifeless.  
  
"No!" Harry yelled. "Elphias!" The remaining Death Eaters fled down the chasm in his direction, the Aurors hot on their tails. Harry didn't send out any Stunners, as he did not want to hit any of his friends in the process.  
  
"Wormtail! Malfoy! Bellatrix! Stay here!"  
  
"Yes, Master," they mumbled simultaneously, bowing. Harry could see the body of Elphias unceremoniously cast aside ten feet away from them.  
  
"Take his wand," Voldemort said as he turned to face Harry. Immediately Wormtail sprang forward and grabbed Harry's wand directly from his hand. "And now, Potter, you will witness another of my rebirthings. The rebirth of my power. Your Guard is not here to protect you anymore. It is just you, my faithful servants, and me." As Voldemort gestured to himself, the Death Eaters laughed coldly.  
  
"It was a diversion," Harry said, realizing his ignorance and stupidity. "You knew we were going to come here today and you purposely led your Death Eaters away from me knowing the Aurors would follow."  
  
"You're quick on your feet, Potter. Of course there is always a price to pay. I have lost many loyal followers tonight, and that was necessary. There will be replacements. I lost loyal followers not just to face you, Potter, but to acquire a power beyond my highest dreams. A power that anyone would dream of possessing. A power Salazar Slytherin himself created and hid himself in this very cavern. The map, Malfoy."  
  
The tallest Death Eater stepped forward and carefully held out an extremely old piece of parchment that looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries. "Here you are, my Lord." Malfoy bowed as he stepped back again.  
  
"Salazar Slytherin discovered this chasm over four centuries ago. He possessed a weapon of great power and destruction." At these words, Voldemort's red eyes grew even more power-hungry. "Wanting to maintain his status of dignity and distinction, he hid the weapon here, to remain unseen by his fellow founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here, in these same rocks, Slytherin hid the Crystal of Tritum."  
  
The Death Eaters quivered in anticipation. "Master, please, let us find it soon!" Wormtail exclaimed.  
  
"Silence, Wormtail. Slytherin created a map plotting where exactly he hid the Crystal. That map we have here." He held up the parchment. "Bella, please help direct me to the right cavern."  
  
A masked Bellatrix Lestrange stepped forward and carefully but earnestly took hold of the map. She examined it and walked around, inspecting each and every cave of the labyrinth in turn. Silently, Voldemort and Malfoy followed, and Wormtail shoved Harry forward. "You'll come too, Potter," he said.  
  
Finally, she stopped in front of a smaller cavern. "It is this one, my Lord."  
  
"Thank you, Bella," Voldemort replied, accepting the old piece of parchment from her outstretched hand. "You shall receive your reward." He turned towards Harry. "Potter, the Crystal of Tritum holds such a value that all the gold in Gringotts would not come close to matching it." The Dark Lord chuckled. "The spells of the holder of the Crystal are three times as powerful. The ignorant power-hungry human race will all bow to me before this time tomorrow." Thunder started to boom from the ominous clouds and rain soon followed. Voldemort turned into the chasm, Malfoy, Bellatrix, and Wormtail (still prodding Harry in the back) following. The passageway was tight, but Voldemort hastily shoved the boulders that had blocked his way aside. Soon, they reached a large circular room, a round pedestal with a beautiful clear crystal sitting atop it. Harry could see ancient engravings encircling the small pedestal. The Death Eater's fixated eyes opened wide as they stared open-mouthed at the stone in front of them. Wormtail reached for it...Harry could have taken his wand back if he could just reach it...  
  
"NOT THIS TIME!" yelled a familiar voice from the entrance of the chasm. Harry looked up to see the outline of Moody's body, flanked by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's, framed in the entrance. Lightning flashed and Harry saw how impressive the outline of their figures looked. From Moody's raised wand, he froze Wormtail in place, hand almost upon the crystal.  
  
Voldemort was frantic for a second, but soon recovered himself. "You shall not be my downfall, Harry Potter..." With three loud pops, Voldemort, Lucius Malfoy, and Bellatrix Lestrange had Disapparated.  
  
Moody stepped forward, followed by the Weasleys. He looked at Wormtail's frozen form with a look of disgust and then turned back to Harry. "You all right, Potter?" he asked as he grabbed Harry's wand and threw it at him.  
  
"Yes," the teenager replied, catching it.  
  
"We'd better out of here. We'll have the Azkaban guards come to collect this scum," Moody pointed with his head towards Wormtail, "and his followers. Maybe now Sirius's name can live on in peace." As all three stepped into the light, Harry noticed they all had scratches covering their faces and Mr. Weasley was limping slightly.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Kingsley's unconscious, and Elphias and Tonks are dead, as you've already seen," Mr. Weasley explained bleakly. Unable to contain herself any longer, Mrs. Weasley burst out sobbing in hysterics and flung herself on Harry.  
  
"You could have be—been k—killed, Harry!" she exclaimed in between sobs. "You know—that I've always looked at you as—as another son, don't you?"  
  
"Yes, Mrs. Weasley," he replied uncomfortably.  
  
"Molly," Mr. Weasley said, gently prying his wife off of Harry, "we'll have to go back now."  
  
"Yes—I suppose so..." she replied, drying her eyes. "Let's collect Kingsley, Tonks, and Elphias and go home." 


	20. Grief and Despair

_Chapter 20_

_Grief and Despair_

"Dead…" Dumbledore said when they were back in his office where Moody, Mr. Weasley, and Harry had laid Tonks and Elphias' bodies carefully on the floor. Kingsley was on his way to the hospital wing. Harry's head was pounding and it unnerved him to see his friends' dead bodies in front of him. He wished Dumbledore would cover them up or something. "Tonks…Elphias…_dead_… And how many Death Eaters did you say you caught, Alastor?"

"At least twenty," Moody growled in reply. "I sealed off the Abyss so no one will be able to leave until the Azkaban guards get there."

"And the Crystal of Tritum?"

"Still hidden within the marked cavern. You'll find Peter Pettigrew frozen there, almost touching it."

"So Sirius' name will be cleared at long last," Dumbledore said, though grimly. Harry remained silent. "We will have the Crystal destroyed, of course, once the whole area has been searched."

Mrs. Weasley looked extremely pale underneath her scratches and bruises. Mr. Weasley apparently noticed, for he quickly ushered her out of the room and onto the landing outside the office.

Harry didn't know what to do. Moody stared down at the bodies of his comrades in disbelief. He was covered from head to toe in dirt and blood. Harry knew he probably didn't look much better. Deliberately, he looked away from Tonks and Elphias and at the books around Dumbledore's office. The headmaster stared straight at him. Harry wished he wouldn't. Outside, it was dark. Checking his watch, Harry noticed it was two in the morning.

"Harry, I must ask you something," Dumbledore said just as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley stepped back into the room. "Arthur, Molly, I suppose you had better hear this outright as well. Like always, Harry, you have achieved beyond your potential, and beyond anything I could ever ask of you. Facing Voldemort on your own free will is something few accomplish. I know you have had quite an ordeal tonight, seeing two comrades perish on the battlefront." At this, Dumbledore gestured towards the two Aurors' bodies with a saddened expression. Harry couldn't take much more of this. "I only ask one more thing of you: I ask that you make an appearance at breakfast tomorrow morning where I will announce to the student body what you did tonight and what happened to Tonks aandMisters Malfoy and Lyons. They will most certainly be expelled after this."

"Albus, you can't ask this of Harry!" Mrs. Weasley interrupted. "He's been through enough tonight and he's not ready to face the school just yet!"

"I am aware of your concern, Molly, but I am afraid this has to be done. The students need to understand, and I want Harry there when I explain it to them."

"But so soon!"

"It is necessary they know immediately. Ignorance is something the human race has never had the ability to conquer. I intend to change that."

"Dumbledore?"

"Yes, Alastor?"

"What about the Order? We must call a meeting immediately."

"Not until the school year is over. My headmaster duties come first. Keep tabs on the Lyons family as well as the Malfoys. We cannot trust them any longer.

"I will wake Minerva and Severus. Minerva will wake Mr. and Miss Weasley and Miss Granger. Wait right here, Harry, until I return."

"I see no use for me here any longer, Dumbledore. I'll just take Tonks and Elphias here…"

"Kingsley should be back to his senses by now. I will inform him to go back to Grimmauld Place. We can't risk knowledge of the Order leaking out around the school."

"Right. So a meeting at Grimmauld Place then?"

"At dawn on Wednesday."

"I'll tell the others." Moody waved at the others and disappeared with Tonks and Elphias.

Dumbledore left the office, leaving Harry alone with the Weasleys. They remained silent, although Mrs. Weasley frequently reached forward to flatten Harry's hair. Harry's mind raced; all he could think about was lying down on his four-poster upstairs and taking a long, luxurious nap. He didn't want to deal with this right now, especially in front of Ron, Hermione, Ginny, McGonagall, and Snape.

Soon, Dumbledore reentered the room, Snape following behind in his usual black robes. "Minerva should be here soon with the others." Sure enough, Professor McGonagall came into the room wearing a light pink bathrobe with purple slippers, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny following behind wearing their pajamas. Harry could tell none of them had gotten much sleep.

"Mum? Dad? What are you doing here?" Ron asked upon seeing his parents dirty, bruised, and bloody. "Wait…you—you went to the Abyss of the Enemy? Without telling us?" Mr. Weasley nodded.

"Oh, Mum!" Ginny exclaimed, running up and hugging her mother.

"Harry, please retell your story," Dumbledore said, listening intently. With Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's help, Harry retold his story about the Abyss of the Enemy, from beginning to end.

"You mean Tonks is—is _gone_?" Hermione asked, fighting back tears.

"I'm afraid so," the headmaster replied, bowing his head.

Eventually, Harry finished his tale. He was glad, for Hermione and Ginny had tears running down their faces. Snape and McGonagall had remained silent through the whole interview. "Poppy won't like this at all, but Harry, please return to your dormitory tonight and get what sleep you can. After breakfast tomorrow, you may go to the hospital wing and have her check you over. Mr. Weasley, please accompany him. Good night." Mr. and Mrs. Weasley smiled sadly at Harry as he passed, Ron right behind him.

Harry gladly lay on his four-poster when he got back to the dormitory, but found he couldn't sleep. He hadn't eaten since lunch the day before, but he wasn't hungry. He felt hollow inside, and didn't know what to do about it. After an hour and a half of restless twisting and turning, he sat up, dug out his Invisibility Cloak, and walked out the door.

Harry did not know where he was going to go, but he knew it had to be somewhere where he could face the torture that ate him up inside.

_I don't feel like flying, or else I'd go get my Firebolt…_ Harry thought to himself. _I can't go to Dumbledore's office, since McGonagall and Snape are probably still there…I would go talk to Dobby, but not today; not now…_ Then it hit him: Tonks' office. He knew she wasn't there anymore, but no one would interrupt him. He could grieve in peace. Silently, he turned left into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, walked to the front, and climbed the stairs in the direction of the office. He stood in front of it for a moment, contemplating what would become of the Order and what would become of him this summer and next year. He reached out and opened the door.

Harry wasn't at all surprised to find Tonks didn't lock her office door. Slowly, he pushed the door open, walked in, and closed it behind him.

Tonks had been so unique; so different from all the other teachers and Aurors Harry had met. He looked around the room at the purple curtains, the Weird Sisters posters, and her desk piled with exams waiting for her to correct. Harry couldn't take much more. He fell into one of the purple chairs, put his arms on the desk, and his head fell on top of them as he started to cry.

Two hours later, Harry woke up, his head still on Tonks' desk. He stood up and walked out of the office knowing he looked dreadful. Harry noticed dried blood still caked on his arm and his robes still torn and dirty. As he walked through the halls of Hogwarts, a few early-risers looked at him with suspicion and curiosity. Harry chose to ignore them.

He didn't want to face the student body today. It was too early and too soon. Having nothing better to do, however, he walked in the direction of the Gryffindor tower. Before he turned the corner, Harry heard familiar voices, those of Ron and Hermione.

"Where could he be?" Hermione asked frantically.

"Somewhere in the castle, I'd presume."

"Ron, I know that, it's just that we don't know where Harry ran off to!"

Not knowing if he wanted to face his best friends or not, Harry tentatively turned the corner and headed straight for them. "Looking for me?" he managed to ask weakly.

"Harry! We were so worried!" Hermione exclaimed. Suddenly Harry didn't want company. He just wanted them to leave him alone.

"You look terrible, mate. Maybe you should get cleaned up before breakfast," Ron said.

"That's right. Breakfast," Harry said hollowly. He just wanted to sleep. He should have slept more.

"Is there anything we can do?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"No. I'll just clean up before breakfast. I'll follow you in a couple minutes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Just give me a bit and I'll be right down."

Harry looked in the mirror at his face. There were scratches everywhere, dirt smudges on his right cheek, and his eyes had gotten puffier overnight. He showered and washed his face the best he could, but nothing could wash away the renewed sadness for Tonks and hatred accumulated for Voldemort the night before. Sighing, he pulled on his robes and walked down to the Great Hall.

"As you can see, we are missing several students and a teacher from our midst," Dumbledore started heavily after the student body had finished breakfast. Harry purposely kept on staring down at the table. He hadn't eaten anything and didn't want to see the attention focus on him again. "I will be honest and frank with you, as you all must understand what has happened before you leave school this year. Tonks has died, and Mr. Draco Malfoy and Mr. Zachary Lyons have been expelled for assisting Lord Voldemort in obtaining valuable information." A wave of frightened whispers filled the Hall. Dumbledore again called order by raising his hand. "Last night, Mr. Harry Potter traveled to the Abyss of the Enemy on his own free will to help the Aurors stop Voldemort from acquiring a power that could have destroyed the world as we know it." Everyone in the Great Hall craned their necks to get a look at Harry. He felt himself blush, and continued to pick at the table. "Harry succeeded, but not without a great loss.

"Few of you knew Tonks for over a year, but I'm sure in your brief acquaintance, you have found that she was an intelligent, courageous, vibrant, and fun-loving young woman. She was one of the best Aurors I have ever known. She died facing Lord Voldemort, fighting for a noble cause. Consider yourselves fortunate to have known her.

"We caught Misters Lyons and Malfoy passing information to Voldemort through a map of the Abyss of the Enemy. It plotted exactly where the source of power was located. Naturally, their expulsion is yet another loss, but use it as a lesson showing us we must unite against Lord Voldemort." At this, Harry glanced in the direction of the Slytherin table. Sure enough, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson looked up at Dumbledore with a great disgust. Down the Gryffindor table, Harry heard one of Zachary Lyons' groupies burst out into sobs.

"O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams will continue tomorrow, for the futures of our fifth and seventh year students, but all other final exams will be canceled. Remember the lessons you learned from Tonks. Honor her memory." At this, Dumbledore stood up and raised his goblet. "Nymphadora Tonks," he said loudly and clearly while looking gloomily at her empty seat at the staff table.

All students (including most Slytherins) and staff members followed suit. Benches scraped on the floor as they stood up, raising their goblets. "Nymphadora Tonks," the school mumbled in reply, many people with tears in their eyes.

The mood of Hogwarts was bleak for the next week as the fifth and seventh years completed their exams. The Quidditch cup remained in Professor McGonagall's office since the championship match occurred before Malfoy and Lyons had left the school. Harry had been overjoyed, but now his favorite sport wasn't there to keep him occupied. People constantly asked him about the Abyss of the Enemy, but he told them he couldn't talk about it. He spent his days either avoiding people altogether or playing wizard chess with Ron. The days kept dragging on and on…

Finally, the week ended. Harry packed his trunk and unwillingly walked down to the feast with Ron and Hermione. Ever since that night when Harry had gone to the Abyss, they avoided the subject. Harry was glad, but that didn't stop others from pestering him to tell them about it.

Before they entered the Great Hall, Ron stopped them. "There's something I want to tell you two before we go in there," he said nervously. "I've decided that I'm going to take that five-year Auror course through the Ministry after we graduate. I figure I'll—I'll help you, Harry. We're going to need some Aurors to replace the ones we've lost anyway and it's a way I can help." He paused. "What do you think?"

"It's a great idea, Ron," Harry said, a smile spreading across his face for the first time in weeks. "You'll make a great Auror." Ron blushed a deep red.

"Come to think of it," Hermione said, concentrating hard, "I think I'll take that course too. I mean, there can never be too many Aurors, can there?" Harry's smile only widened.

The next day, Hogwarts students loaded the train to go back home for the holidays. Hagrid caught Harry before he left. "Harry, yeh've done well this year. Not tha' yeh don' every year, but with everything goin' on…yeh did it. Yeh goin' back to Grimmauld Place then?"

"Yes. Since Sirius left it to me in his will and I don't have the Dursleys to go back to anymore, Professor Dumbledore thinks it best that I go to Grimmauld Place where Aurors will be able to keep a watch on me."

Hagrid pulled Harry into a one-armed hug. "I may jus' come to Grimmauld Place to visit yeh sometime this summer. Dumbledore thinks I can do some work fer the Order an' all. Take care, Harry." With that, the train whistle blew and Harry followed Ron and Hermione onto one of the scarlet cars. They waved at Hagrid until they couldn't see him any longer.

Mrs. Weasley, Moody, and Hermione's parents greeted the trio on Platform 9 ¾. "All right there, Potter?" Moody growled from under his bowler hat that covered his magical eye.

"Yes."

"I'll take you to Grimmauld Place, then. Miss Granger and the Weasleys will join you later in the summer. Right, Molly?"

"That's correct, Alastor. Harry, _do_ take care of yourself, won't you?" she asked as she hugged Harry tightly.

"I will, Mrs. Weasley."

"We're off then, Potter," Moody obviously wanted to leave the platform as soon as possible, so Harry quickly said his goodbyes to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"Take care, mate," Ron said, slapping his best friend on the back.

"Bye Harry, and please be careful," Hermione said nervously, almost in the same manner Mrs. Weasley had.

"See you later, Harry," Ginny added.

Harry followed Moody, not knowing what he was getting himself into nor what would happen to him next year. All he could do was hope. Hope for a happier life and hope for a more peaceful world.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The end! That's the first novel-sized story I've actually finished! What did you think? Did you enjoy it? Please send comments my way through a review. Thanks for reading!

Oh, and I guess I forgot to mention that I'm already almost halfway done with a seventh year following up this story (_Harry Potter and the Life of Another_), so I'm not trying to be mean or anything by having a cliff hanger ending, just a follow-up story! So please read on…


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